Would you like to have some ramen?

The situation was somehow resolved.

It seemed that my barricading myself in the bedroom and Alex's earnest persuasion had been effective.

The villagers returned to the village without much protest.

"Eve, here you go."

"Ah, thank you."

Hope brought me clothes to replace my completely torn-up dress shirt.

Apparently, Alex had brought the clothes.

I wasn't sure how he knew my size, but I figured it was just a coincidence and decided to accept them without much thought.

Fortunately, among the clothes, there was one that closely resembled the shirt I had been wearing, so I was able to dress without much trouble.

Hope took the tattered clothes away, saying she'd take care of them.

There wasn't anywhere nearby to throw them away—where could she have taken them? Could it be she plans to sew them into a handkerchief or a blanket?

I have no idea.

Well, she's a smart kid. She'll handle it well, I'm sure.

"Uncle, raise your hands higher."

"Yes, ma'am."

Even though things had been resolved amicably, the culprit who caused this whole incident had to face appropriate punishment.

Having barely emerged from my bedroom, I was in a foul mood and sentenced him to 'kneel and raise your hands'.

"Uhm… my arms are getting a bit tired—"

"Keep them up."

"Yes, ma'am."

No matter how things unfolded, it was evident that the presence of villagers near the orphanage was tied to Alex.

After all, when the villagers came rushing in, far from being flustered, he remained composed.

It made sense to assume he knew something.

"Now, Uncle, please explain what happened."

"Well…"

What followed was Alex's excuse-filled explanation.

While I was tending to Hope, chaos had erupted in the village, and seeing this, Alex had come to the orphanage, bearing the worries of the villagers.

"And within an hour, if I didn't come out…"

"You had some kind of agreement that they'd assume something was wrong and storm in, right?"

"…Correct. I can't believe I forgot such an important detail—how embarrassing."

So that's what happened.

"They're all such kind people. I've only been here for a couple of days, yet they care so much."

"…Eve, you're already one of the villagers. From the moment you first arrived, everyone thought so."

"Thank you. That's really touching."

"Right? So, would you let me off this punishment? My arms are starting to ache."

"Nope."

Where do you think you're going?

"Raise them higher."

"Ugh…"

I poked his arms, which kept trying to lower little by little.

The firm muscles pushed back against my finger, nearly causing me to lose my balance, but I quickly steadied myself.

"…Uncle, you've got way too much muscle."

"Haha, this uncle is a bit impressive, isn't he?"

"I wasn't complimenting you."

How much muscle does someone need to have for a simple poke to send me reeling?

Is it because I don't have any muscles myself?

"I used to be just as muscular back in the day…"

I raised both arms slightly and struck a flexing pose.

Of course, no matter how much effort I put in, no bulging biceps suddenly appeared.

Only the soft skin wobbled gently in response.

"…Pfft, as if."

"It's true!"

"In your dreams?"

"Urgh…"

Usually, I would let this kind of banter slide, but…

Honestly, this stung a little.

"It's true, I swear!"

"Sure, having big dreams is a good thing."

I was already sensitive from earlier, and I didn't ask for this soft, squishy body!

My original body was that of a 'super-cool and clever elite warrior'!

"You're not getting away with this!"

Completely provoked by Alex's teasing, I charged at him, attempting a body slam.

Thud!

"Whoa, whoa…"

It was ineffective.

Alex's body didn't budge even a nanometer from my full-force dinosaur-like charge.

Instead, it was my body that rebounded.

Wait, hold on.

If this keeps up, I'll fall.

I'm going to hit my head on the floor—!

"Ugh… Huh?"

"Eve is feisty today."

"…You didn't have to catch me."

"Sorry, I just can't stand seeing someone get hurt right in front of me."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course."

What's with this guy?

"…Raise your hands again. Don't try to act cool and escape."

"Oh dear, I've been caught."

"You had the act down, but you were lacking sincerity."

"I was completely sincere just now."

"Just put your hands up."

"Got it."

"Whoa, hey!"

What's he doing now?

"No, I meant your hands!"

"I'm putting them up, aren't I?"

"No, I mean—!"

Alex suddenly picked me up and started lifting me high into the air before bringing me back down.

Yes.

It was 'up and down'.

The thing little kids go absolutely wild for.

"How is it? Up you go! Down you go!"

"This isn't funny—!"

"Eve is taking off!"

"I'm way too old for this kind of thing!"

"Whoosh~ Isn't it fast?"

"That's…"

Something's off.

…Why is this fun?

"Heh, hehe."

"Isn't it fun?"

"…No, it's totally boring."

"Hah, sure. Then this uncle will put in a bit more effort!"

I struggled to suppress the corners of my mouth from rising.

Then, crossing my arms, I put on the most indifferent expression possible.

"Not impressed at all…"

I wasn't scared.

I wasn't having fun.

I had to show Alex that this silly airplane game was pointless.

Determined to prove that, I steeled myself with a stern face.

"…Eve?"

"Wow, Woah, waaah—! Eh?"

Oh no.

* * * *

I'm mortified.

What a disgrace.

Instead of being a role model in front of the kid, I ended up laughing like a fool. Totally unfit to be a director.

"It's okay, Eve. I understand."

"Don't."

"I understand too," Alex chimed in.

"Keep quiet!"

"Don't be too upset."

"This is all your fault!"

"It seems unlikely it's this uncle's fault."

 Alex smiled slyly.

His expression somehow felt like it was mocking me, as if asking, What can you even do about it?

As I sat there sulking with a scowl, someone started poking my side.

"Eve."

It was Hope.

She pointed at something white wrapped around her neck.

What's that?

It looked like a scarf, but the material seemed different from an ordinary scarf… Ah!

"Did you make a scarf out of my shirt?"

"Yes, how does it look?"

"It looks amazing! I didn't know you were good at sewing!"

No wonder she had been out of sight for a while—she was busy making this scarf in a corner.

"How is it? Are you warm?"

"It's warm and cozy. Since it's made from your shirt, it feels like I'm hugging you."

"Uh… so, you like it?"

"Of course!"

Hope buried her face into the scarf, breathing in deeply as if savoring it.

She must really like it.

It was rare for Hope, who hardly ever smiled, to be so happy.

"Hope being happy makes me happy too."

"…Who's the real weirdo here?"

"Huh? Uncle what did you just say?"

"Nothing at all."

"Hm, pretty sure you said something."

How odd.

"Eve, maybe he's jealous of my scarf?"

"That could be it. It's an awesome scarf you worked hard on, after all."

"Of course! It's the only one of its kind in the world."

"Yes, one of a kind."

"…"

It seemed Hope's guess was correct.

As Hope waved her scarf, Alex's expression kept shifting.

"Ha!"

"…You cheeky little…"

Although his antics were, well, a bit irritating, I decided to just ignore him.

Growl.

While watching this little standoff between the sun and the cat, a loud rumbling sound erupted from somewhere.

It was so loud it felt like the orphanage shook.

"Oh dear."

The source of the sound, of course, was Alex's stomach.

Does having a big body make the sound louder?

Well, it was certainly an alarm befitting his large frame.

"Uncle, are you hungry?"

"Seems I'm a bit peckish now that it's dinner time."

"Gasp, it's already dark!"

Looking outside, the world was pitch black.

With so few stars tonight, it felt even darker.

It didn't look like he'd be able to make it back to the village easily.

"Uncle, since it's so late, would you like to stay and have dinner with us?"

"Wha—?"

"Eve?!"