IBDEML 34

Chapter 34

The old man touched his chin and laughed lightly.

“How is life here? Do you think it suits you?”

“I’m not sure…”

What a strange question.

“Do you perhaps know who I am?”

Their gazes met in the air.

The old man looked at her silently, and Lopez did not avoid his eyes either.

His dark blue eyes were so deep that it was impossible to know their depth.

His perfectly steady posture, the way he spoke as if he knew something about her, and that mysterious gaze made it impossible to understand his intentions.

Just as Lopez felt certain she needed to get an answer from him—

“Lopez!”

Chester’s voice suddenly broke the silence from far away.

He ran over urgently, grabbed Lopez, and quickly pulled her away from the old man.

“What is this? A kidnapper?”

“No. Just a homeless grandfather who was sleeping on the ground.”

Calm down.

Lopez gently moved Chester aside and asked the old man again.

“Won’t you answer my question?”

“I will answer later. There are too many people here right now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, priests and Megan came running from behind.

“Why are you all here?”

“You screamed! I thought you were in danger!”

Chester shouted, which was unusual for him.

“Were you worried?”

“Yes!”

“Why? Don’t worry about me.”

You should worry about your own future instead.

Chester frowned at her answer.

At that moment, the old man who had been watching quietly spoke in a slightly darker voice.

“You have already become a major part of the story. What should I do about this?”

A story?

The words sounded meaningful.

Just as Lopez tried to grab him—

The old man suddenly disappeared from that spot.

“Wow… the person disappeared.”

Bill said with amazement.

Lopez watched calmly and made a simple guess.

“Maybe he was a ghost.”

Did I get possessed by a giant grandfather ghost?

Hearing that, Chester quietly grabbed her hand tightly.

“Are you scared?”

“Ha.”

He scoffed and tightened his grip on her hand.

A little while later, Lopez somehow became a hero who survived meeting a ghost grandfather.

And all of it was because of Bill’s loose mouth.

On the way back to the orphanage, Bill shouted loudly like he was telling a heroic story.

“Big sister Lopez pulled out the ghost grandfather’s hair!”

“I didn’t.”

I only pulled a few beard hairs.

But her explanation reached no one.

You troublesome Bill!

Lopez was so embarrassed she couldn’t even lift her head.

* * *

Early the next morning, Lopez planned to ask Megan for permission to go out and search for the old man.

But that turned out to be unnecessary.

“Since we did volunteer work at the temple yesterday, today we will go to the village so you can each buy a gift you want.”

“Waaah!”

“I really worked hard!”

To keep the promise that they would receive gifts for listening to the priests, Megan took the children outside again.

‘When everyone is choosing gifts, I’ll quietly slip away.’

No matter how she thought about it, the old man she met yesterday was suspicious.

‘That grandfather definitely knows something about me.’

Finding him would probably be faster than risking danger by asking a guild for information.

“Hey, what are you going to choose?”

“If there’s something you want, tell me. I’ll pick it for you.”

Lopez answered absentmindedly while thinking about how to slip away.

“Sure. You guys pick something nice too.”

“What is she even saying?”

“Is she planning some kind of trouble again?”

Chester’s sharp words surprised her for a moment, but she pretended to be calm and stayed close to Megan.

The general store was bigger than expected.

There were also many items inside.

“Remember, you can only choose one thing each. And don’t leave the store. Understood?”

“Yes!”

The children answered energetically and scattered around the shop.

Before anyone could follow her, Lopez deliberately blended into the crowd.

Her effort worked, and thankfully she disappeared from the children’s sight.

After confirming that no one was following her, she went straight to Megan.

“Teacher, can I go out for a moment? I won’t do anything dangerous.”

“Let’s go out together after everyone finishes choosing their gifts.”

With this many children?

Thinking about the old man who disappeared because there were too many people, Lopez tried to persuade her again.

“Actually, yesterday at the temple I met a grandfather who seemed to know me. I thought maybe if I meet him again, I might recover my memories…”

Megan looked troubled.

Of course she would worry about sending a child out alone.

Lopez grabbed Gail’s arm beside her.

“I’ll go with Teacher Gail! That’s okay, right?”

Megan thought for a moment longer.

Seeing how desperate Lopez looked, she finally allowed it.

“Don’t let go of Teacher Gail’s hand. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“And did you choose your gift?”

“Ah, not yet… but I want a map. Even a village map is fine!”

Instead of a toy like most children would choose, Lopez asked for something unusual.

Megan looked surprised.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“Yes!”

Seeing her confident answer, Megan nodded and patted her head.

“Then I will buy your gift for you, Lopez.”

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon.”

Gail looked reluctant to leave Megan’s side, but Lopez’s goal was more important.

They went outside immediately, and Lopez began searching for the old man.

A grandfather that large would be easy to spot.

She looked around the village and also asked the residents.

“Have you seen a homeless grandfather with dark blue eyes who sleeps anywhere?”

“I haven’t…”

Everyone shook their heads and quickly left.

Maybe the question was too vague.

“You can’t find someone like that with such a description… What does he look like exactly?”

“He looks very rough. He’s very tall, his hair is black with some gray, and he has a beard. He looks like a mercenary.”

“…Isn’t he a dangerous person?”

“He was very kind to me. He even knew who I was.”

No matter how much Lopez tried to explain that he was a good person, Gail still looked suspicious.

That was understandable.

Before losing her memories, Lopez had been afraid of adults.

“Alright. But never meet him alone.”

“Yes.”

But I definitely have to meet him alone.

Gail must not learn her secret.

After wandering around for a long time while telling lies without hesitation, they still couldn’t find the old man.

Even the priests at the temple said they didn’t know him.

In the end, Lopez returned to the general store without success.

But someone caught her attention.

‘…He looks a little like Arden.’

His hair wasn’t platinum blond, but his red eyes and facial features strangely resembled Arden.

He looked handsome, but his messy beard and the smell of alcohol were unpleasant.

“Teacher, that man… doesn’t he look like Arden?”

Gail followed Lopez’s finger and widened his eyes when he saw the man.

“He does look similar.”

“Could he be his father? Do you know how Arden ended up in the orphanage?”

“Well… Arden doesn’t talk much about himself. The only thing I know is that someone saved him when he was starving in the forest.”

Gail answered absentmindedly, then suddenly realized his mistake and quickly covered his mouth.

“Ah, that’s…”

“I’ll keep it a secret!”

“Good. I will tell Teacher Megan about that man.”

“What if he really is Arden’s father?”

“Someone who drinks alcohol in the middle of the day can’t properly take care of a child. Don’t worry, we will never send Arden with him.”

That was a relief.

When they reached the general store again, the children were already coming out with their gifts.

Megan looked around and waved when she saw Lopez.

“Did you find the person?”

Lopez shook her head.

“Teacher, when will we go to the temple again?”

Maybe if she waited there long enough, she could meet the old man again.

“Let’s go again, teacher!”

“The priests are so nice! They give us lots of cookies!”

“Working there is fun!”

The children shouted excitedly, and Megan smiled.

“We’ll go again in two days.”

Can’t we go tomorrow?

If she couldn’t find him then either, she would ask to go again with Gail like today.

If they refused, she planned to sneak out secretly.

“What did you buy?”

Klein came closer and asked.

Lopez showed the map Megan had just given her.

“A map?”

“Why a map…?”

“We will have to live independently someday. It’s good to know the geography.”

Of course, it was a lie.

Lopez smiled brightly and carefully kept the map.

Klein and Chester looked like they wanted to say something, but Megan soon lined up the children, so they returned to their places.