Looking for food, Kai was disappointed to find that most stalls were still closed or just preparing to open.
After wandering around for a while, he spotted a ramen shop that was already open—and someone was even eating there.
"Yara, would you like some ramen?" Kai asked.
"Ramen? Is it any good?" Yara, who had never had ramen before, asked curiously.
"It's good, you're going to like it." Knowing that Yara had never had ramen before, Kai immediately sat down at Tom's stall and ordered two bowls—one small and one large.
"Your sister? Lad, I presume she doesn't know how to use chopsticks either," Tom said, immediately recognizing Kai. After all, this was the third time Kai had visited his stall in a week.
"I guess you could say that," Kai replied, then began eating—he hadn't eaten anything since he woke up.
"Say, kid, do you know this guy?" Tom paused and turned to Yara after hearing Kai's vague response.
"Oh, he's my big bro! After defeating the Fairies, he's going to help me look for my parents." Yara, who was about to taste ramen for the first time, stopped and introduced Kai.
"Wow, Uncle, this ramen thing of yours is really tasty!" Yara exclaimed, delighted by the newfound flavor.
"Lad… she isn't your sister, is she?" Tom's expression suddenly turned hostile. When he first saw Kai with Yara, he assumed they were siblings, but he had tossed that thought aside since they bore no resemblance.
That's why he had asked Kai if she was his sister. But when Kai gave such a vague answer, Tom immediately suspected something was wrong and asked Yara directly if she knew Kai.
It couldn't be helped—during the war, Tom had witnessed thousands of child abductions, and since then, he had become very sensitive about seeing children with unfamiliar adults.
That was also the reason he wasn't willing to leave his own kids in the care of anyone else to go hunting.
[Clear Mind]
"Why are you looking at me like that? Although it's true we're not related by blood, she is like a sister to me." Finishing his bowl of ramen, Kai looked up and saw Tom glaring at him with killing intent in his eyes.
"Yeah, Uncle, why are you looking at Big Bro like that?" Yara also sensed Tom's killing intent and asked.
"Care to elaborate?" Seeing Yara stand up for Kai, Tom began to feel that things weren't as he had imagined.
"She's a fellow resident at Candy Complex. We've all been taking care of her since we arrived in this world." Looking at Tom's scary face, the words came out of Kai's mouth on their own.
"Is that so..." Tom calmed down when he heard that Yara was one of the kids separated from their parents during the transfer.
"Tom, what are you making a fuss about now?" Anthony, who had just finished setting up his stall, came over to see what was going on.
"Man, how many times have I told you? Not everyone is a child abductor or a pedophile." Upon seeing Kai and Yara, Anthony immediately understood the situation.
"Don't take his words to heart. He's been in the army a long time and has seen some disturbing things." Anthony turned to Kai and tried to smooth things over—after all, Tom was a good person at heart.
"Don't worry about it." Kai, who had finally come back to his senses, looked at Tom in a new light. The killing intent Tom had released was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
If it wasn't for [Clear Mind] activating automatically when Tom's killing intent fell on him, Kai might have wet his pants.
"Uncle, does that mean you fought in the war? Were you on the good guys' side or the bad guys'?" Lately, Yara had been reading about the War of Unification again, and when she heard Tom used to be in the army, she couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, I'm one of the good guys," Tom smiled and replied. However, deep down, his thoughts were completely different.
In books, the Resistance are portrayed as the bad guys who invaded other countries, while the Allied Forces are praised for saving the world. But Tom, who had spent the majority of his life in the army, knew that wasn't the full story. The war had ended in 1945, but it was the Allies who continued the conflict, eventually leading the world toward unification.
Many countries in the Resistance were simply trying to defend themselves.
"Really? Then I thank Uncle for the help. My parents told me that if it weren't for the Allies, we'd be living in a dumpster," Yara said sincerely. Yara's father had belonged to a low caste in India, and her grandfather had made ends meet by collecting garbage.
"Happy to be of service."
The whole time Tom served in the army, he lived in despair. He had believed there was no point in unification, thinking it would lead to revolution sooner or later. His original plan had been to commit suicide after his parents' deaths.
However, against all expectations, after unification, the leaders of the Allied Forces didn't fight for personal gain. Instead, they fought for the rights of the people from the Resistance.
This was also the reason why, even twenty years after unification, no one talked about revolution—much less acted on it.
Rather than falling into depression after the war, Tom sought therapy and eventually started his own family.
"Uncle, I would like another bowl of your ramen," Yara said after finishing her first bowl.
"One for me, too," Kai added.
Watching Tom talk so politely and happily with Yara, Kai realized that aside from having a quick temper, Tom had another, softer side to him.
As Tom prepared the ramen, he kept chatting with Yara, completely ignoring Kai.
"Lad, just pay for yours. Yara's ramen is on the house," Tom said as he returned three copper coins to Kai, who had just paid for the ramen.
"Thanks, Uncle! I'll come to meet both Aiko and Emi," Yara said gratefully as they continued their adventure. Apparently, she had promised Tom to visit his daughter next Sunday—with Kai.
Under Tom's glare, Kai had no chance to refuse.
After exploring the Hunters Market for another half hour, Kai and Yara left and headed toward Kato Bakery.
"Kai… who is she?" As Kai entered the bakery, Alex greeted him. However, upon seeing Yara, he was surprised and asked. After all, Kai had never mentioned having any relatives living in town.
"She's Yara. Didn't I tell you about her before?" Kai introduced her casually.
"Oh, so you're Yara. It's nice to meet you," Alex said warmly, bending down to greet her.
"Wow, big brother, you've got a lot of goodies here!" Yara looked around the bakery with excitement. Her mother had loved baking sweets, so she had grown up eating desserts like cookies, cupcakes, and brownies.
"So, Yara, what would you like?" Seeing her glued to the glass display, Alex asked with a smile.
"I don't know! I can't decide. Big brother, you have too many good things!" Yara exclaimed.
Her favorite treats were cookies, but she also loved brownies, cupcakes, and donuts.