Walking in Another World

and learn that they’re eight and five.
I think they’re a little small for their ages, and Mia confirms it by saying she also thinks they’re smaller than average.
I’m sure that’s down to poor nutrition.
Their arms and legs look thin too, like they would break if I grabbed them a little strongly.

I give Mia instructions, and she tells them to sweep and scrub the bedrooms.
I ask Sera to do one of the rooms too, while I drain the water from the bathtub and fill it again with magic.
I can heat the water just before it’s used, so I let it sit like this for now.

The house has a small backyard, but it looks like it’s been neglected.
I guess the people that rented this place before didn’t care about it, because there’s weeds all over the place.
We can leave this for tomorrow too.
It doesn’t look like we’d finish today.

After cleaning the house to a certain extent, we take a break and go shopping.
We need pots and plates to use here, and along the way we notice we need forks too.
We also need blankets and spare clothes.
The ones they’re wearing are already dirty because they’ve been cleaning.

For now, I can cast purification magic.

We go back after we finish shopping, and there’s a person I know standing in front of the house.

“Where did Sora go!? We went through the trouble of finding this place, and then we get here…”

“Big sister, please be quiet.
Think of the neighbors.”

It’s a noisy Leila and a levelheaded Casey.

“How did you find us?”

“We stopped by the inn, and were told you left.
I figured you were going to follow up on your plans to rent a house, so I asked the merchant guild.”

And they told you? Is that really the kind of information that should be passed along so casually?

“Let’s not talk here.
Come inside.”

I invite them in and let Mia and the others handle what we bought.

“H-hum, who are those two?”

Leila asks as she sits down.

I explain why the two kids are here.
In a way, they’re the reason why I decided to rent this place.

“I understand.
I see Mia is still the same.”

Leila looks at Elsa and Alto with a certain gentleness in her eyes, but she quickly sits up straight and asks another question.

“You said you are going to challenge the dungeon, correct? What are they going to do in the meantime? They have been living alone, but aren’t you concerned?”

She’s right.
I could ask Mia to stay, but I want her to experience the dungeon too.
There’s a lot to learn there like self-defense, how to handle magic, and all sorts of other things.
And I want her to level up too.

And it doesn’t seem like Mia herself feels any differently.

“I think I know someone who might be able to look after them.
Should I ask them?”

I should probably rely on her.
If I have to look for someone myself, I’ll have to ask the merchant guild, because I don’t have any connections here.
And I can trust someone Leila knows more than a stranger.

“All right.
Thank you.
And I’d appreciate it if you asked how much it would cost me.”

“Come on.
Are we not friends? Did you not save my life?”

Did I?

She refuses when I offer to pay.
I look at Casey, but she tells me to just give up.

I don’t remember doing anything that important, but if it makes Leila happy, I’ll leave this up to her.

Somehow I feel like Leila is too stubborn to back down.