Chapter 15: The Responsibility Is The Evil Dragon’s Share

I’ve already decided what to do.

Now, I need to take a closer, more careful look at the book.

‘If I write down what I don’t know, it’ll be easier to ask later.’

I should buy some writing tools tomorrow, too.

Relying solely on memory feels a bit overwhelming.

Books.

Writing tools.

They were things I had no intention of ever going near again—

Not until I found this child.

‘I thought it would be that way forever.’

I opened the book again.

This time, more leisurely,

I began reading, following each sentence carefully.

Starting from the table of contents,

Making sure I didn’t miss anything,

Turning each page slowly, with time and care.

I examined the book with deliberate caution.

“……”

“Hm?”

Suddenly, I sensed someone nearby.

Lowering the book and looking at the child,

I saw the child, face buried in my arms, gazing up at me.

As if wanting something.

“What is it?”

“……”

“…Are you bored?”

The child nodded.

Come to think of it, the rabbit was also dozing off next to me, its belly full.

“I see.”

“……”

“What should we do, then?”

I closed the book for now.

As I set it down, the child’s eyes sparkled with expectation.

“What do you want to do?”

“……”

“Oh, do you want to read too?”

Wouldn’t it be nice if the child knew how she was growing up?

I handed the child The Complete Guide to Childcare.

The book was bigger than the child, but she hugged it with both arms and rolled her eyes around.

With her head poking out from the over sized book,

The child looked at me.

I was about to start reading again, but paused.

“Hm? What’s wrong? You don’t like reading?”

“……”

Slowly,

But unmistakably—

The child’s lips stuck out in a pout.

The child’s hand gently tugged at my sleeve.

Then, glancing around cautiously, the child leaned slightly into my arms.

“…Ah, do you want me to hold you?”

“……!”

The child’s reaction changed.

Her eyes widened for a moment, then the child quickly nodded.

It was a confident gesture.

“Alright. I’ll hold you.”

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around the child.

Her small body squirmed a little in my embrace, then quickly settled down.

I slowly patted the child’s back two or three times.

“If there’s ever anything you want, you can always let me know. I might not be able to do anything amazing, though.”

“……”

“I’m glad you seem to like being held. The bookstore owner told me to hold you often.”

With her head buried in my chest, the child gave a slow nod.

Time passed gently.

The rabbit was sound asleep,

And the child was breathing softly in my arms.

I quietly looked out the window.

The sunlight was still bright and warm,

And the fallen leaves rolled along slowly, nudged by a light breeze.

“…Nice weather.”

I was about to read a book while holding the child, but stopped.

“Asleep?”

“……”

“Wanna go outside?”

The child blinked slowly.

The child wrapped their arms around my waist.

It seemed like the child didn’t mind the idea.

“Alright. Let’s go. We need to send the rabbit off, too.”

“?!”

“Hmm?”

The child’s eyes wavered.

A flicker of confusion and doubt passed through her gaze.

Was it the word ‘send off’ that caught them?

I gently patted the child’s head and spoke.

“We’re not eating it, so there’s no reason to keep it. We should send it back where it came from.”

“……”

Tears welled up in the child’s eyes.

With tightly pursed lips, a tear dropped silently.

Then the child began to sob softly.

“……”

“Hmmm…”

I felt a bit at a loss.

What should I do in times like this?

I only said we’d send the rabbit off — I didn’t think the child’d cry this much.

‘First, I should probably calm them down.’

Gently, ever so slowly, I stroked the child’s back.

The child’s small body trembled slightly.

The child pressed her lips tightly together, as if trying hard not to cry.

“Don’t cry.”

“……”

“…Then, let’s give the rabbit a choice.”

“……?”

The child blinked.

As I wiped away her tears, I continued speaking slowly.

“Let it choose whether to go back or stay here. Let it decide on its own.”

“……”

“If it likes being with you, it won’t leave. Just like you didn’t.”

“……”

“If you’re okay, will you hold the rabbit? Let’s go outside and ask together.”

The child lowered her gaze for a moment,

Then carefully looked up at me.

And then, the child opened her arms and held the rabbit.

There was still a hint of anxiety,

But even so, the child’s arms held the rabbit firmly.

“……”

“Okay. Let’s go ask.”

The child gave a small nod.

I gently gathered a blanket and a few books, then stood up carefully.

I opened the door.

Warm sunlight and a gentle breeze swept in.

The rabbit,

And the child,

Both peeked her heads out and looked at the world outside.

“Nice weather, isn’t it?”

“……”

A faint light returned to the child’s eyes.

We slowly walked toward the place where we had first seen the rabbit.

Before long—

A familiar landscape came into view.

“This is it.”

“……?”

“Where we caught the rabbit.”

I wondered if the child understood what I meant.

The child stared at the rabbit in their arms.

I gently set the child down.

Once at the rabbit.

Once at the wide field.

The child hesitated, then slowly bent down.

And carefully placed the rabbit on the grass.

The rabbit looked up at the child.

The child’s fingertips hovered in the air.

As if wanting to hug it again.

But—

The child clenched their fists and lowered both hands.

The wind brushed gently by.

The blades of grass rustled, swaying, and the rabbit’s ears moved softly with the breeze.

“…”

“You can go.”

The child looked at the rabbit with tears welling up in her eyes.

The rabbit,

One step, two steps,

Quickly moved forward.

The child’s body trembled, as if on the verge of tears.

But,

They did not try to hold on.

As if respecting the rabbit’s choice.

The child’s gaze was fixed on the rabbit.

With the child small lips tightly pressed together, her clenched fists trembled slightly.

The rabbit stopped.

Sniffing the air, it nibbled on the grass, and after a while, it turned and ran back toward the child.

Stepping lightly on the grass,

It returned to the child’s arms.

“…!”

The child’s eyes widened.

The child lips trembled, and her arms moved again.

This time, without hesitation, the child pulled the rabbit tightly into her embrace.

“…You came back.”

“…!”

“You must want to stay with me. …What a strange little thing.”

The child’s shoulders quivered slightly.

Then, the child smiled brightly.

“…Huh?”

A smile brighter than the sunlight, the kind that shone in the child’s future, so identical to the one the child had encountered before.

I watched quietly for a moment, then smiled softly.

“…So, you can smile like that now.”

“…?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

I covered the child’s shoulders with a blanket.

The sunlight was warm, and the weather wasn’t too cold.

“You did well.”

“…!”

The child looked up at me with a face wet from tears.

Slowly, I bent my knees,

And met the child’s gaze at their eye level.

“It was hard, wasn’t it?”

“…”

“But you let go. That was really amazing.”

“……”

“Letting go of something you don’t want to let go of is often difficult, even for someone like me who has lived for countless ages.”

The child’s lips trembled.

While holding the rabbit, a single tear fell.

But the expression was much firmer than before.

I gently wiped away the child’s tears.

“Let’s rest here for a bit, then we can go back. It seems like the rabbit likes it here too.”

“……”

The child’s expression brightened.

I leisurely sat down beside the child.

Holding the rabbit tightly, the child stared up at me.

“Right. Should I hug you again?”

“……!”

The small head nodded vigorously.

Seeing that, I carefully opened my arms and gently embraced the child.

Sunlight filtered through above, and the late autumn breeze softly whispered.

A single leaf silently landed on the back of my hand.

It truly was a beautiful day.

Murmuring as I felt the breeze.

“I should buy a book about rabbits.”

“……?”

“If we’re going to live together, we need to know more about each other.”

“……”

“That’s what responsibility means.”

The child tilted her head slightly.

It seemed like my words were difficult to understand.

But that was okay.

Even if the child didn’t understand now, she would eventually.

Yes.

Even if it’s the possibility of the future.

A child with such a radiant smile.

When I see them say the child want to protect someone.

The child will surely come to understand the meaning of responsibility one day.

“Though the problem is that the one who wants to protect is the evil dragon…”

The bold face of the one who said that came to mind, and I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh.

I gently patted the child’s head.

“It’s okay. Until then, I’ll bear the responsibility for you.”

“……?”

“Because I have to take care of you too.”

The child’s eyes widened in surprise.

The child carefully buried her face in my chest and rubbed her cheek against me.

A small warmth gently seeped through.

The child’s body temperature gently touched close to my heart.

I softly tightened my arms around the child.

The child, holding a rabbit in her arms, snuggled closer to me.

“Ah, right. If you’re okay with it, could you help me?”

“Huh?”

“There was something I wanted to check from the book earlier.”

The child looked up at me.

There was a hint of curiosity mixed with subtle anticipation in her eyes.

“It was about the developmental stages of babies. It seems like humans change according to their months of age. And depending on that, parenting methods are different.”

“…?”

“So, I need to know how many months old you are. I thought I could check it against you and see.”

The child tilted her head.

They child soon, she smiled and nodded.

It was a clear sign of agreement.

“Thank you.”

“…!”

I chuckled softly and opened the book again.

Then,

Not long after,

I came across a problem that I hadn’t been able to solve in a long time.