Chapter 2 : The greatest archer of the Elves

Raising a baby was an incredibly challenging task.

First of all, finding food to feed the baby was a hardship.

I knew intellectually that I had to feed the baby formula, but unfortunately, formula did not exist in this era.

However, there was something else instead, and that was artificial breast milk produced and sold by the monastery.

There were many abandoned babies, and since there wasn’t enough food for babies in their infant years, the monastery began producing breast milk to sell to orphanages.

It wasn’t that the breast milk had a long shelf life, as it was replicated from the milk of women who worked as wet nurses, but it was so common that it was very easy to obtain.

Therefore, from the very first day I had to raise a baby, I rushed to the nearest village with all my might to get a bottle and some artificial breast milk.

Even though the baby had been entrusted to me out of necessity and I didn’t really want to raise it, I couldn’t just let this small life die.

So, after warming the milk in hot water and carefully feeding it to the baby, I saw it drinking the milk, even though it spilled some from its mouth.

Then, recalling the memories of videos I had seen before, I gently patted the baby’s back until it burped, and only then could I finally relax and sit down.

“Ah… why is feeding one meal so difficult…”

“Ugh… bbaah…”

“…Alright, are you full now?”

When I first adapted to this world and trained in swordsmanship, it wasn’t this difficult. Yet somehow, feeding a baby felt harder than that.

But that exhaustion seemed to lift a little as I watched the baby, still in my arms, wiggling its hands.

After that, I gently rocked the baby for about five minutes, and it quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Carefully laying the baby down on the bed so as not to wake it, I let out a sigh of relief that I hadn’t realized I had been holding in.

“Hoo… I finally can rest.”

Exhaling that sigh, I ran my hand through my hair, thinking of all the worries that still awaited me.

“How should I handle the baby’s poop… There’s no toilet paper or diapers in this era.”

Even though there’s magic and the continent is more advanced than the medieval times I knew, it’s still essentially a medieval era.

Disposable diapers didn’t exist, and neither did toilet paper. All that existed were cloth diapers that vaguely resembled modern ones, or soft single-use paper.

“Plus, the breast milk I got is only a temporary solution, so it won’t be enough…”

And since I had only bought the milk I urgently needed, I would have to go back to the village to get more.

“I’ll have to buy some clothes for the baby and blankets to cover or lay on, too. Winter is coming soon.”

Not only that, but it seemed that I would have to keep going to the village for everything else I needed to raise the baby.

Raising a child for the first time, there was so much to think about.

It was a hectic evening on my first day back after retirement.

However, contrary to what I had thought, that I would drown in sorrow and loneliness, I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to feel sad.

“Thanks to that, I didn’t even have time to cry.”

I wasn’t sure whether I should be grateful or resentful, but it wasn’t the baby’s fault.

And more than anything, I didn’t feel bad about spending my day in a rush to save a life, so I took one last look at the sleeping baby’s face and closed my heavy eyelids.

“I’ll sleep just a little… then I need to get moving.”

I slipped into a light sleep, leaning my back against the chair.

Before winter arrives, I heard the sound of the chilly autumn wind brushing against the window as I drifted into a drowsy state.

Fortunately, the usual battlefield’s distant echoes were quieter than usual.

After waking up from a short, light sleep, which was much deeper than the recent rest I’d gotten,

“Hoo, alright. Let’s go right away.”

“Ugh…”

I quickly wrapped the baby in a swaddle and carried it in front of me as I left the house.

When I went to buy the milk before, I had rushed out by myself to get it, but this time there were a lot of things I had to buy.

Even if I bought everything as quickly as I could, it would definitely take at least an hour for a round trip, so I couldn’t leave the baby alone.

That’s why I wrapped the baby in a swaddle and quickly set off, my feet hitting the ground.

“I hope you’re not cold…”

The baby wasn’t even one year old, so its skin was still very delicate. I worried if it might get cold, but thankfully, the baby didn’t seem to be cold because I had wrapped it in several layers.

Since I kept the rocking to a minimum, the baby’s face seemed very comfortable.

“Good, I can pick up the pace.”

Since the baby seemed fine, I decided to pick up the speed and increased my pace.

Thump, thump, pow -!!!

Releasing mana to minimize the shock, I sped through the ground at an incredible pace.

About ten minutes had passed since I left the cabin.

As I saw the village in the distance, I slowed my pace and stopped at the entrance.

“We’re almost there.”

There was a bigger village called Hagen nearby, but it would take over 30 minutes just to get there, so I deliberately came to this village.

Since it was a village located away from the road to the kingdom, there was no need for identity checks or inspections.

This village had been built as part of a count’s territory, so unless patrols were passing through, there were no guards or security to control access.

Most importantly, I had already been familiar with the villagers, so when I entered the village, a young man passing by greeted me.

“Oh, is this Lord Kael? I heard you came by earlier. Do you have any more items to buy?”

“Ah, I need to buy a few more things. It’s for the baby.”

The young man’s gaze shifted to the baby cradled in my arms.

His eyes widened, and his pupils trembled.

“A baby…? Could it be that you, Lord Kael, are married?”

“…That’s impossible, isn’t it? I don’t know who left this baby in front of my cabin, but I’m the one raising it.”

I immediately denied the strange assumption the young man had made and shook my head.

I had no one to marry, so how could I be married?

Besides, if there was a baby, that would mean it was born while I was on the battlefield.

It was ridiculous, so I denied it outright, and the young man awkwardly smiled, relieved.

“Ah, I see. By the way, leaving a baby like that… that’s an unforgivable thing.”

I wasn’t sure why he was relieved that I wasn’t married, but I didn’t care to ask.

Instead, I nodded along with his words and responded.

“Yeah, it’s unforgivable. Anyway, I’m here to buy some items, so don’t spread any strange rumors.”

“Of course! When have I ever spread strange rumors?”

He answered with a somewhat uneasy tone, but I knew that rumors couldn’t be stopped even if I tried.

In fact, trying to stop them would only make them spread more.

So, rather than continuing the conversation, I decided to turn away from the young man and leave.

I had too many things to buy in the village to waste any more time.

“Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, take care and be safe while shopping!”

After saying goodbye to the young man, I moved my feet toward the market, checked the money in the leather pouch hanging from my waist, and let out a small sigh.

“Hmm… I brought enough, so I shouldn’t be short, right?”

I had received so much money as a reward for my achievements on the battlefield that it was practically rotting away.

But what I brought with me today was only a tiny portion of it.

Even though I wondered if it might not be enough, the amount I carried was still considerable, so running out was unlikely.

Setting aside my worries, I wandered through the market streets, feeling the gaze of onlookers with every few steps.

‘Well, I do stand out quite a bit.’

I was well aware of the reason behind those stares.

To the people of this era, a tall, muscular man over 180 cm carrying a baby in his arms was an unusual sight.

Especially when that man had a sword strapped to his waist and was covered in lean muscles.

However, there was one thing I didn’t realize—those gazes didn’t stop at mere curiosity.

Step—

Step—

“Oh my, Sir Kael. What’s with the baby? Did you get married?”

“…I didn’t. Ask Hansen for details.”

Even at the street stall where I came to buy breast milk for the baby.

“Huh?! Sir Kael got married?!”

“I don’t even have a woman to marry.”

And at the furniture store next door, where I came to buy a baby sling.

“Gasp?! Sir Kael, whose baby is that?! Did you already get married and have a child?!”

“…Someone abandoned the baby in front of my house, so I decided to raise it.”

Finally, even at the general store where I came to buy cloth diapers and soft disposable paper as a substitute for wipes.

The shopkeepers, upon seeing the baby in my arms, didn’t just stop at staring—they bombarded me with the same questions as Hansen.

Since I was holding a baby, it was natural for them to assume that I had gotten married and had a child.

Even I would have thought the same way, but hearing the same misunderstanding over and over again was driving me crazy.

“You sure sleep peacefully, huh…?”

And the baby, the very cause of this confusion, was sound asleep in my arms, looking incredibly smug.

Of course, the sheer cuteness overshadowed any irritation, making it forgivable.

I gently stroked the baby’s head before picking up the pile of goods beside me.

“Ugh, that’s a lot.”

I had bought ten baby slings, ten bottles of breast milk, and five hundred sheets of soft disposable paper to use as diapers.

The total weight easily exceeded 50 kg, but my body had been trained through countless battles in this world, so lifting it was no problem.

With one hand, I grabbed all the items, while my other hand secured the baby sling to keep it from coming loose.

Then, I slowly left the village, gradually picking up speed.

The sun was beginning to set.

If I delayed any longer, I might become a target for bandits or wild beasts, so it was best to reach the cabin before the baby woke up.

Tap, tap—

-!!

With each step, the scenery around me blurred and disappeared behind me.

And just like when I arrived, running at a moderate speed for about ten minutes brought me back to my cabin in the frontier.

However, unlike when I left, I furrowed my brows upon seeing a lone figure standing in front of my cabin.

“…A person?”

There was almost no reason for anyone to come to this rural place, where my cabin stood alone.

If they had just happened to pass by, then their robe was far too luxurious for a simple traveler.

Which meant they had come here intentionally to meet me.

“How did they find this place?”

I was confused because, aside from Enoch—the person who built my house—no one knew where I lived.

Could it be an assassin?

Brushing aside the dozens of possibilities flashing through my mind, I slowed my pace and stopped behind the person standing in front of my cabin.

“You. Who are you? How did you find this place?”

“…Ah.”

At my question, the person flinched before slowly turning toward me.

And as soon as they fully faced me, ‘she’ pulled back the hood of her robe and looked at me.

Seeing her familiar face, my eyes widened in shock.

“…Ruina?”

“It’s been a while, Kael. I heard you retired, so I came to find you.”

The woman beneath the robe was none other than Ruina.

She was an elf, the greatest archer of her race, and a war hero who had fought alongside me in the recently ended war.

Ruina, revealing her face as she pulled back her hood, gave me a gentle smile as she spoke.

She had come to find me upon hearing of my retirement.

It had only been a little over a week since rumors of my retirement began spreading, yet she had managed to find me so quickly.

Astonished by her speed, I clicked my tongue internally as she slowly approached me.

“You once told me that if you ever retired, you wanted to live quietly in the countryside. So, I figured you’d be in the estate the king granted you.”

“You really know me well… Wow.”

“Of course. It’s about you, after all. But since it’s been so long, how about we catch up—”

But before she could finish, Ruina suddenly halted.

She had just noticed the baby in my arms.

It was as if she had been struck by a petrification spell.

“A… A… A baby…?”

Her voice trembled with disbelief.

Then, her expression crumbled as she raised her voice in shock.

“Kael, did you get married?!”

“…I didn’t.”

That question again.