Playing as a Tank

“Hm? Is there something on my face?”

Pure curiosity bloomed on the youthful face that was munching on tender salmon grilled to sweet and savory perfection.

Seeing such a childlike appearance, mischief welled up within me, and I pretended to wipe her cheek but instead gently poked it with my fingertip.

Even after my slender index finger lightly dug into her cheek, those blue eyes looking up at me just blinked, not knowing what was happening.

Yet she still didn’t stop filling her stomach, and that childlike face was quite adorable.

However, a faint sensation leaked from somewhere, causing me to silently meet her gaze for a moment.

It was right after that when I finally voiced the question I had countless times rehearsed only in my mind.

“…Do you want to join my guild that badly?”

Almost simultaneously, a head nodding vigorously.

Realizing that the thoughts of this child I had sincerely cherished for so long hadn’t changed at all, I unconsciously wore a bittersweet smile.

When had it started?

When had she decided to walk the path I wished those soft feet without a single callus would never tread?

I subconsciously knew she admired me, Asha, who had risen to the ranks of the strong before even becoming an adult, but I had hoped she wouldn’t try to follow in my footsteps.

One way or another, she’s the child of my benefactors whom I must keep safe no matter what.

‘Please… Please make sure Lua can live well even without us…’

What I was asked the first and last time I was saved by others.

What the lives that died in my place desperately asked me to protect safely on their behalf…

The only trace left in this harsh world by the benefactors who saved my life.

The child I cherish more than anyone else, as paying back my life debt belatedly, a child who cannot be exchanged for anything.

That’s why, because it was relatively safer compared to other places where dungeons and gates frequently appeared.

Because it was a village where trustworthy people I had known since my childhood lived…

I even established a guild branch for contingencies and had men who had lived their entire lives on battlefields protect the child.

But it seemed that the rugged appearance of those hunters instead became the starting point for the child to dream of the same life as them.

Or perhaps the cause was me boasting about my various achievements and accomplishments to a child who didn’t know anything yet.

“Well… I can’t say that none of those had any influence.”

But, Asha, you know.

“Abnormal abilities are sometimes given without reason. Something like this was bound to happen someday.”
“It was… something that would happen someday…”

Despite Levan’s words of comfort—the guild member who had known Lua and me the longest—I couldn’t feel at ease.

Even though having abnormal abilities was better than not having them.

Even though this was a world far from peaceful, with danger and crisis lurking everywhere, I simply couldn’t feel relieved.

One might have thought it fortunate that she gained the power to protect herself from such a young age…

‘T-trouble! Lua is—’
‘…I’m sorry, Asha. There was nothing we could do. The child’s condition is already—’
‘B-big sister… I’m… scared… Don’t want… to die…’

Why do I keep imagining the worst-case scenarios?

“…How did she appear in Uncle Levan’s eyes?”
“At least B+. I’m not sure exactly what Lua’s ability is, but people who can manifest more than one ability at once aren’t that common.”

In other words, it meant she was a rare case worthy of society’s attention.

“I thought something felt different about her mana…”

It meant she had become someone worthy of considerable attention even in a world where all kinds of strange powers ran rampant… I couldn’t help but sigh.

Finally, after leaving the restaurant located slightly away from the village, at the moment we arrived at the fork in the road.

“Um, Big Sister. Can’t I… stay with you just for tonight?”

I faced her cautious demeanor as she asked to stay with me until we left for the guild headquarters tomorrow morning.

The reason being she didn’t want me to break my promise and secretly run away.

“Why would I do something that would make you hate me?”
“B-but still…”

The warmth of the small hand I had been holding slipped deeper into mine.

As one might expect, I couldn’t push her away.

As always.

In the end, I moved my steps toward the small hut on the outskirts of the village rather than the guild branch where some unfinished tasks remained.

By the time we returned to the small but cozy hut, the sky, which had already turned yellow, was gradually darkening.

Afterward, we began packing various miscellaneous items including clothes together.

Only then did she seem to believe that I would really take her with me, making me feel slightly disappointed, so I deliberately patted her head roughly.

Not long after, when small shining dots began to appear one by one in the dark sky.

“Lua. Do you still have the bath additive I bought you last time?”

I suggested we soak in the bathtub together to relieve the fatigue accumulated throughout the day.

And I was rejected in exactly one second.

“I-I-I can wash by myself!”
“What are you saying, when you don’t even know what’s stuck to the tip of your tail right now.”

But I wasn’t one to back down so easily.

I also wanted to somewhat satisfy the semblance of affectionate desire that had developed during the months I had been separated from the child I had given my heart to.

Therefore, once again, I simply picked up the child trying to escape and headed to the bathroom.

What happened next was forcing her into a state suitable for soaking in warm water.

For some reason, she couldn’t quite calm down even after we both soaked in the wide wooden bathtub, but well.

She’s probably just shy because it’s been a long time.

Even as I playfully fiddled with her fluffy ears that had drooped after getting wet, as I always did.

There was no problem even as I lathered up her small body with a body wash that had a subtle lavender scent.

And so, the languid time that had continued for quite a while—satisfactory only to Asha herself—eventually came to an end.

For some reason, I finally lay on the same bed with the child who had been unable to meet my eyes at all.

What followed were questions about the events of the day.

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of the forcibly conducted bath, at first she only gave short answers, but as time passed, she gradually returned to her usual way of speaking.

“Did you really knock down the ant lion with one punch?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit complicated to explain… but yes, I did defeat it with one hit.”
“That’s amazing, our Lua.”

However, as time passed, once again, a question filled up to my chin, making my throat feel tight.

Finally, at the very end, I asked once more if she had no intention of changing her mind.

“It’s not… too late to think about your power later. So, you don’t necessarily have to follow me, you can stay here.”

However, the answer that eventually came back was far from what I had hoped for.

Having only reconfirmed that I couldn’t persuade this child no matter what I said, I finally took a step back.

…Psychologically, that is.

For some reason, physically, far from taking a step back, I took several steps forward.

-Squeeze.

“Eh, uh… Big Sister?”

I silently pulled her small body, which had been slightly apart from mine even on the soft mattress, into a firm embrace.

Forcefully restraining her struggling movements into my arms, I created a short distance where we could hear each other’s heartbeats.

My face, which had been buried in her soft shoulder for some time.

I remained still for a while, holding her fragile body that seemed like it would break if pushed too hard, as if cuddling a doll.

And so, after only silence filled the surroundings, how much time had passed?

“…Lua.”

I slowly lowered my gaze, which had been facing the giant gray light silently illuminating the dark hut, and the sea of stars pouring down through it.

Not long after, I met blue eyes once again.

Almost simultaneously, I slowly opened my mouth and began to quietly whisper my last line of retreat.

“No matter what happens from now on, don’t do anything dangerous.”

What lingered at the bottom of the calm voice that continued afterward—was it an appeal or a plea?

Various emotions and wishes that couldn’t be determined simply as “requests” were mixed turbidly and spilled out.

“Don’t get hurt either. Don’t cause trouble. Don’t be deceived by bad people…”

In the atmosphere, which didn’t contain even a grain of sand’s worth of levity, she couldn’t even nod easily and just blinked.

But that was fine. Just listening quietly to my sincere feelings was enough.

“You are too precious to me, Lua. So, I hope you will cherish yourself too.”

Just not pushing me away was enough. Just not being afraid was enough.

“Many things will probably change from now on. Still, as long as you’re by my side, it’ll be all right. Yes, definitely all right…”

It was enough that she didn’t say she disliked it, that she would do as she pleased, that I shouldn’t interfere with her…

I sang a blurry lullaby without any real lyrics until those most familiar eyes slowly closed.

Right now, nothing else mattered; I just wished her pleasant dreams.

There was nothing else I needed to do or wanted to do.

“…Sleep well.”