Sunny

His eyes lit up, and he said happily, "Mr. Shaya."

But the memories from just now quickly resurfaced in his mind.

A being with a temperament very similar to the Grim Reaper he had met before had suddenly appeared before him and asked about the details of what he had experienced earlier.

Not wanting to cause Shaya any trouble, Hart had deliberately concealed Shaya's existence as well, before losing consciousness.

Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly said, "Mr. Shaya, just now..."

"If you mean that man who looked like an Ancient Greek sculpture, he's already left," Shaya said. "You probably won't see someone like him again for quite a long time."

Shaya's calm tone eased Hart's anxiety as well.

He relaxed slightly. At that moment, he realized that what he considered a troublesome matter seemed utterly insignificant to the being before him.

He could not help but grow curious. Who exactly was this being, and why was he not even afraid of the Grim Reaper?

But given his personality, he obviously would not ask.

He could not help saying, "You saved me again."

"He didn't mean any harm," Shaya said.

After a pause, he said with some amusement, "When did I ever save you?"

As they spoke, the steak Shaya had ordered was brought over by the waiter and placed before him, giving off an irresistible aroma of meat mixed with a faint lemon fragrance.

Shaya picked up his knife and fork. As he cut into the steak, he glanced at the bandages wrapped around Hart's left arm.

"You were injured?"

"Yes." Hart nodded. "I ran into two bandits on the road back from the Imperial Capital, but fortunately, it was only a scare."

After a pause, he looked at Shaya. "Thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything. You were just lucky."

Shaya was not wrong. There were still many variables in Fate. Perhaps because Shaya had changed Hart's Fate, he had been able to escape death.

But Shaya could not guarantee how he would survive.

He might have lost an arm outright, or been paralyzed from the waist down. After all, it had been a calamity that could have killed him.

Yet he had only suffered a scrape. That could only mean he was lucky.

Shaya cut off a piece of steak and put it into his mouth. The beef was richly marbled, tender and smooth, without any tough sinew to chew through. It melted after only a few bites, yet was not greasy in the slightest. Its meaty fragrance was rich, and its juices burst forth.

This beef would have tasted excellent even without any seasoning.

He nodded. "You were right. The beef here really is delicious."

He looked up at Hart. "I have a favor to ask of you."

Hart froze for a moment, then a delighted smile appeared on his face. Nothing was more gratifying than being able to help his benefactor.

"What do you need me to do? As long as it's something I can do, I'll do my utmost to accomplish it!"

"It's not that serious." Shaya continued working on the steak before him. "I want to move here. You're a local, so you should know the people around here fairly well.

Help me find a house that's up for sale. Of course, I'll pay for it."

Hart thought for a moment. "Do you have any requirements?"

"As long as it's comfortable to live in," Shaya said.

Hart nodded, then smiled. "I'll definitely find you the best house in Saxili!"

"Let me make this clear first: I can't afford anything too expensive," Shaya said.

The house they lived in was really only one house. The rest were merely an outward appearance, just doors. There was no need for anything too luxurious.

"Just leave it to me!" Hart said confidently.

Shaya nodded. Hart seemed fairly reliable, so there should not be any problems leaving it to him.

He chatted with Hart a little longer, then followed him to a local beef seller and bought some prime beef for the people at home to try as well.

After that, he returned to the Imperial Capital. If he wanted to open a shop, the Imperial Capital was still the right place to do it.

Although the royal power was currently changing hands, it would eventually come to an end.

There would be war in the future, and the Imperial Capital was also the safest place in a country.

The widow and orphan Hart had been caring for seemed to be considering transferring their shop. Her husband's pension had come through, and together with the money their family had earned before and the transfer fee for the shop, it would be enough for them to live a decent life in the countryside.

But he still needed to consider what kind of shop to open.

He was not counting on the shop to make much money. To an immortal like him, money was merely a number. He simply needed something to do to pass the long years.

After all, he could not spend every day sitting in his old man's chair and basking in the sun. The magic books the old man had manifested along with the castle would eventually all be read.

So whether the shop made money was secondary. What mattered most was that it was hassle-free and interesting.

By the time Shaya finished all that and returned to the castle, it was already around two or three in the afternoon.

"They went out," Cassifa said. "On the castle side."

Shaya placed the beef he had bought in Saxili on a table to the side, then opened the door leading to the castle.

The castle was no longer by that great lake.

The Wilderness Witch had been trying to lock onto the castle's location. On the night Alicia had developed a fever, Shaya had told Cassifa to head east.

After traveling for several days and nights, they had now more or less left the Britannia Empire.

Their current location was neither North America nor Europe, but the land connecting North America and Europe.

In the world Shaya had once lived in, this place should have belonged to the Atlantic Ocean.

As far as the eye could see stretched an endless plain. Lush green grass swayed in the breeze, though spring had only just arrived. Some patches of grass had not yet fully turned green, while the short trees and shrubs remained bare.

Even so, it was still a beautiful scene of all things coming back to life.

Alicia had carried her old man's chair to the top of a small hill. With a gray cloth covering her legs, she happily watched Arthur in the distance.

Arthur was running excitedly across the grassland. Behind him, a small animal that looked like either a kitten or a puppy bounced after him in pursuit.

The boy and beast played together like friends who had known each other for a long time.

Alicia spotted Shaya standing in the doorway and called out to Arthur, signaling that it was time to head back.

Arthur stopped and looked back toward the castle entrance, then turned around and picked up the little creature by the armpits.

He jogged over to the castle entrance and excitedly held the animal up as he asked Shaya.

"Shaya, can I keep it?"

Shaya finally got a clear look at the creature. It looked very much like a cat, but was far sturdier.

He looked at Arthur with an odd expression.

"Do you know what that is?"

"A kitten," Arthur said doubtfully. "Isn't it? It looks a lot like the one at the orphanage. Alicia thinks it's a cat too."

Of course she did. Not long ago, she had still been blind, Shaya thought.

When he was young, his favorite thing to watch had been animal documentaries, so he recognized it.

It was a lion cub, though he could not tell what breed it was.

Under Arthur's expectant gaze, Shaya looked around. Lion cubs like this were usually with a pride.

But there was obviously no sign of a pride nearby. Perhaps they had been frightened away by the castle under Cassifa's control.

This was a cub that had become separated from its pride. A young cub like this would basically be unable to survive alone in the wild.

"Taking care of an animal isn't an easy task," Shaya said. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Arthur lowered his head, and the little lion raised its head to look at him. The two little fellows met each other's gaze.

Then Arthur raised his head and looked at Shaya with firm eyes.

"I can do it!"

Shaya nodded. "What's its name?"

Arthur's eyes lit up immediately. He excitedly gave the name he had come up with long ago. "His name is Sunny!"

Shaya looked at the lion cub. Animals grew faster than humans. A lion like this could grow to the size of a leopard in about a year, and certain special breeds could grow even larger.

"Luckily, the place we'll live in later isn't small either," he said.