5.
While I giggled to myself, the soldiers exchanged sharp glances.
Aunt Cecil glared at them, her voice rising to a shrill scream.
“Let go of me! What did I even do wrong? You’re arresting an innocent woman!”
“Whether you’re guilty or not will be revealed in time.”
The soldiers gripped Aunt Cecil’s arms firmly and forced her to stand.
Even as they dragged her away, she refused to abandon her performance.
“Ta, Tania! Why are you doing this to Mommy? Are you sulking because I didn’t buy you candy earlier? If that’s it, Mommy is sorry. Please, tell them it’s not true! They’re misunderstanding!”
The soldiers paused, glancing between me and the merchant guild leader as if to verify her claim.
“This child is an orphan who grew up on the streets,” the guild leader said coolly. “I know her well; she often runs errands for my guild in exchange for food.”
“Ah, the gentleman is right.”
I pretended to tremble, nodding along with his story. The soldiers clicked their tongues at Aunt Cecil.
“Good grief, she’s telling a lie that’s bound to be exposed. No need to listen to any more of this. Let’s go!”
One of the soldiers reached out to guide me away as well, but the merchant guild leader intervened with practiced grace.
“The child seems quite shaken. I’ll calm her down and bring her to the security station myself.”
“Ah, would you?”
Seeing me shivering, the soldiers gave me a sympathetic look before departing.
I waved lightly at the struggling Aunt Cecil and whispered to myself,
“It was unfortunate to meet you. Let’s never see each other again.”
Feeling a wave of relief as she vanished from sight, I turned to the merchant guild leader and gave him a thumbs-up.
“You’re more capable than I thought, Mister. I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”
“I was lucky enough to run into the soldiers on my way to fetch the guards. I played it off as a serious situation.”
He pulled up one corner of his lip and ruffled my hair.
“You’re the one with great improvisation. When you mentioned something about the central clock tower, it was so convincing that even I almost believed it.”
“Hm? That’s where the illegal ability user trade happens, you know?”
“…….”
“Hehe. That was the only way to ensure they’d be locked up as accomplices.”
The merchant guild leader asked, his tone now far more cautious.
“……Are you able to foresee things like that, too?”
“Of course not. I just grew up at the bottom; I know how things work.”
Faced with another “misfortune narrative” hit, he patted my back with eyes full of pity.
“To have experienced so much at such a young age…….”
As we parted ways, he made one final offer.
“Tania, are you absolutely certain you don’t want to join our guild?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Tsk. I see.”
The merchant guild leader couldn’t hide his disappointment, but he remained considerate.
“If that’s how you feel, at least let me take you to the orphanage gates. That would be alright, wouldn’t it?”
“Actually, there is somewhere else I’d like to stop by first. Could you take me there instead?”
With the small-fry dealt with, it was time for the most important thing.
Reuniting with Aiden after five years of death.
✦ ✦ ✦
It didn’t take long to arrive near the house where Aiden and I had lived in the previous timeline.
I bowed my head to the merchant guild leader.
“Thank you for everything.”
“No need. I got something out of it, too. As you said, it was a fair trade.”
“Ah, speaking of trades, I remembered something. I mentioned I had two pieces of information, right? I’ll give you the second one now.”
“It’s fine. I’ve already been paid more than enough.”
“You still need to hear it.”
I smirked.
“The first piece of information was that there would be a major crop failure next year, right?”
“……That’s right.”
“Since grain yields will surge the year after next due to the new farming methods from the Magic Tower, sell everything you bought this year before next year ends.”
“Huh.”
He sighed, stroking his chin.
“So that’s why you held back.”
“Yes.”
When a major crop failure hits, the recovery usually takes years. But this case was an exception. If he didn’t offload his stock, he would be stuck holding a mountain of grain when the market crashed under the surplus of the following year’s bumper crop.
“The more I think about it, the more I regret not being able to recruit you.”
“Haha, who knows? We might meet again soon.”
I smiled brightly and bid him farewell.
“It was a good trade. I hope your guild prospers.”
✦ ✦ ✦
[Overwriting the current timeline onto Timeline 2.]
With the save confirmed, I stood before the door of Aiden’s house and drew a steadying breath.
I knew he was alive in this timeline. Still, the anticipation made my heart hammer. I wiped my damp palms on my skirt and knocked carefully.
A moment later, the rusted door creaked open.
I etched the man who stepped out into my memory.
Bronze skin that suited a mercenary, black hair swept back carelessly, and those sharp golden eyes—like a beast’s—with the long, vertical scar cutting across his left lid.
He looked younger than the face I remembered.
The second our eyes met, I burst into tears and threw myself into his arms.
“I missed you.”
I felt his body stiffen in surprise, but I didn’t care.
“I tried so hard to live a good life with you. Don’t you dare leave me first this time.”
I couldn’t do this twice. Returning to the past was painful, but the thought of watching him die again was unbearable.
“This time,” I whispered, hugging him tight, “we’re going to hunt down every bastard threatening our peace, and we’re going to live for a long, long time.”
As his warmth soaked into me, a profound sense of relief took root.
“Daddy.”
Aiden loved me like a daughter, but he absolutely hated being called that. In the past, if I ever blurted it out, I’d reset the timeline before he could finish scolding me.
I pulled back, curious to see his expression.
He was staring at me blankly, as if time itself had frozen. A strange child had appeared, tackled him, and called him Daddy—he looked completely bewildered.
Smiling through my tears, I didn’t hesitate.
[Loading Timeline 2.]
Creeeak.
As Aiden opened the door, I forced my expression into a calm, gentle smile. I wanted our first meeting to be remembered with warmth, not confusion.
“Hello, Mister. Would it be possible to get a piece of bread?”
✦ ✦ ✦
After a long silence, he told me to wait and went inside.
Just as I began to worry he might have forgotten me, the door swung open again.
“Come in.”
Aiden sat me at the table and placed a steaming bowl of stew and white bread before me. They were high-quality ingredients, far beyond anything Aunt Cecil had ever provided.
Thinking of eating his cooking after all this time made me giggle as I picked up my spoon.
He sat across from me with a guarded, unreadable expression.
“……What’s your name?”
“Tania. What about you, Mister?”
“Aiden.”
Right. Aiden.
A truly nostalgic name.