Yes, I Like Children

After two hours on the road, Hai Na did not feel the slightest bit tired.

As they left the Red White Queen District, the central area of the capital city of "Glass Island," the number of smoke-belching factories and speeding trains gradually increased.

The choking fog mingled with the fishy stench of fish and shrimp, while steam whistles blended with the cries of vendors.

The aroma of bread baking in roadside bakeries drifted over, and people in heavy overcoats and top hats walked along the streets.

A down-and-out painter in a beret sat by the roadside, painting the black high-rises across the street, along with the metal pipes that coiled around the buildings like snakes as they spiraled along the outer walls of the factories. Inspectors clad in silver-white armor flew overhead on tall, powerful White Griffins more than two meters high.

A red-haired newspaper boy of eleven or twelve shouted from the roadside with two bundles of newspapers on his back:

"Today's headline from the 'Glass Staircase Newspaper'! Bishop Mathers of the Red Queen Parish was recently appointed Spiritual Councilor by Her Majesty the Queen! The number of Spiritual Councilors from the Church has now risen to six! The Minister of Finance plans to impose taxes on matches and kerosene lamps next year! The Stibium Kingdom has expelled three knights from Avalon for murder, espionage, and interfering in the internal affairs of other nations! Her Majesty the Queen has expressed her strong condemnation!"

More than half of the "Glass Staircase Newspaper" had already been sold, leaving only a few copies. The straps had to be tightened again and again to keep them from slipping off his shoulder.

The other bundle of newspapers behind him, however, had sold less than a quarter.

With somewhat cracked lips, he shouted, "The 'Lloyd Weekly' is only five Red Coins a copy! The Day of the Gallows is approaching, and the list of November's death-row prisoners has been finalized! Thirty-eight people will be sentenced to death this month, making it the second-highest number in the past three years! The confirmed death-row list is here! The Nikas Plaster Factory in the port district is recruiting apprentices for its third round, with the minimum age lowered to fourteen!"

"A painter on Green Flute Street committed suicide at home last week! Lloyd Port Bank was robbed yesterday, and all the robbers have been arrested! Come and have a look! Only five Red Coins a copy—"

"Senior."

Iver suddenly spoke. "Help me buy two newspapers."

"Hm?"

Hai Na froze for a moment. "Someone from your family should be delivering the 'Glass Staircase Newspaper,' shouldn't they? Do you want to buy a copy of the 'Lloyd Weekly'?"

"No, buy one of each." Iver emphasized his words.

"...Oh, I understand."

Hai Na finally realized what was going on. Iver had seen how hard the newspaper boy was working and wanted to help him sell out sooner.

"It's almost noon. No one will buy them. Besides, this is Lloyd District. It's full of sailors, fishermen, and laborers. They don't have much money to spend on newspapers."

She lowered her voice. "How about I buy them all?"

"No. Just one of each."

Iver shook his head. "That child is working, not begging."

"...I understand."

Hai Na looked at him with newfound respect.

She nodded solemnly and reminded him, "I'll go buy the newspapers. Be careful."

Iver opened his eyes and nodded silently.

The moment Hai Na left him, a girl crept over on tiptoe.

She was somewhat dirty, thinly dressed, and emaciated.

Looking at Iver in his hood, the girl hesitated, unsure how to address him.

"...Mister, would you like to buy a bouquet?"

she asked softly.

She had clearly noticed that Iver was sitting in a wheelchair. Though the patterns on the wheelchair told her that he was probably a wealthy man—and likely a kind one, since she had secretly overheard their conversation—she still lacked confidence when making her offer because Iver seemed to be disabled.

Iver reached out and patted her head.

When he extended his hand, the girl trembled violently as if she had been shocked. Her body jerked backward in fear, as though she was afraid someone would hit her.

But Iver's hand moved slowly, and the hand emerging from his sleeve looked young enough. She soon realized that she seemed to have addressed him incorrectly.

"—Brother,"

Iver said softly.

His fingertips touched the girl's hair, but all he felt was dust and grease. Clearly, she had not bathed in quite some time.

The girl obviously knew that as well.

Because Iver had touched her hair, she anxiously took half a step back and apologized to him instead. "I'm sorry, my hair is very dirty... I'll leave right away..."

"Why don't you sell me a flower?"

Iver said with a quiet laugh.

As he spoke, his outstretched right hand opened.

His palm, which had been empty a moment ago, suddenly held a Red Coin with a denomination of one.

It was not an Extraordinary Ability, merely a simple magic trick, but it made the girl's eyes widen.

She looked at the banknote, then at Iver. She evidently thought he was an extraordinary lord, and hesitated to accept his money.

Beneath his hood, the corners of Iver's lips curved slightly upward.

With nimble fingers, he closed his hand and slowly drew the banknote back.

But just then, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation and reached toward the back of the girl's neck. "Oh, what's this?"

As he spoke, he deftly pulled a brand-new Red Coin from the girl's neck.

The girl opened her eyes wide in surprise and confusion, clearly unable to understand how it had flown there.

Before she could refuse, Iver deftly folded the Red Coin in half twice with three fingers of his right hand, then slipped it into the large money pouch hanging over the girl's chest and abdomen.

Iver slightly lifted the edge of his hood, revealing his young face to the girl and giving her a sincere smile.

"Shh..."

He raised a hand to his lips and made a silencing gesture.

Then he put his hood back on and extended his slender, pale right hand. "Little miss, where's my flower?"

"...Ah, here!"

The girl finally came to her senses and handed Iver a withered wild rose, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Are you buying flowers, Iver?"

Hai Na returned at that moment, carrying the newspapers, looking somewhat puzzled.

At the sight of her, the girl jolted in fright and nearly fell straight to the ground. Seeing Hai Na dressed as an inspector, her face instantly went pale, and her whole body began to tremble.

Yet even though she was terrified, she did not flee at once. Instead, she forced herself to be brave and stammered softly, "W-wait, sir! I-I still need to give you your change...!"

Stubbornly, she used her trembling hands to carefully count out nine wrinkled Copper Coins from the paper packet hidden against her chest, then respectfully handed them to Iver. Next, she carefully folded the brand-new one-denomination Red Coin Iver had given her and put it away. Only after tucking it inside her chest did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

She had been under Hai Na's watchful gaze the entire time, and by the time she took her leave, her legs were already weak with fear.

"I'm not that frightening, am I?"

Hai Na had never cared when people feared her before.

But now, perhaps because she had discussed certain matters with Iver, or perhaps because the girl looked so young and innocent, the fact that the girl was frightened of her left Hai Na somewhat dejected.

Only after watching the girl walk away did she ask softly, "Do you want me to throw the flower away for you?"

The dirty wildflower truly did not match Iver's attire.

"No need,"

Iver replied. "It was a child's heartfelt gift, after all."

"You seem to like children a lot?"

Hai Na pondered this, realizing something.

Compared to his attitude toward her, Iver was clearly much friendlier toward those two children.

"Yes, I like innocent children."

Iver nodded. Rarely, he did not lie, instead speaking a sincere truth from the heart. "It's like liking cats and dogs. Spending time with them helps me relax. There are many things I like. The only thing I don't like is people."

"...Why does that sound like an insult?"

The remark instead sounded like a joke, so Hai Na joked along. "You can't treat children like cats and dogs."

"It only sounds that way."

The corners of Iver's lips lifted slightly, and he did not explain further.

He really had been insulting people—just the adult variety.

In his eyes, those dirty-minded, profit-obsessed, two-faced adults were inferior to cats and dogs... Naturally, that included himself.

As they chatted and Iver guided her, they finally reached the Pelican Bar.

Rather than a bar, it looked more like a private residence or a warehouse. Its front door was painted white, with a large, open-mouthed pelican drawn in an exaggerated, almost comic-book style. All kinds of fish had been stuffed into its enormous mouth, floating amid beer foam, as if they were being stewed in beer inside its mouth.

A wooden sign hung beside it, covered in a long string of uppercase letters representing the onomatopoeia of a drunkard burping.

—That was the sign above the bar.

In other words, strictly speaking, the "Pelican Bar" should actually be pronounced "(Burp) Bar."

It was almost noon, yet the bar was not closed. There were even quite a few customers inside.

Clearly, it also operated as a restaurant at noon.

The instant Hai Na slowly pushed Iver in through the doorway in his wheelchair,

her footsteps suddenly stopped.

Her eyes widened, and she fell into shock.

Because the bartender leisurely washing wooden cups behind the counter was not human—he was a rare Wild Elf! Apart from living four or five times longer than humans, elves were also generally much taller. Even female elves were usually over one meter eighty tall, occasionally reaching two meters, while male elves reaching two meters forty or fifty were not uncommon.

This meant that if an elf did not receive a proper upbringing, they could easily become stooped from frequently interacting with shorter humans during adolescence. Elves who received a good upbringing—or rather, elves cared for by their parents—generally did not become stooped.

Therefore, stooped elves were called Wild Elves. Wild Elves were far rarer than elves.

Elves placed tremendous importance on honor, family, and bloodline. They were thus extremely hostile toward Wild Elves and their parents, believing them to disgrace the elven race. When an elf's parents died for reasons related to honor, they would usually entrust their children to relatives or friends.

Only when they died from shame—for example, after being sentenced to death—would they refuse to entrust their children to others. Alternatively, children abandoned by their parents or rebellious children who ran away from home might grow into Wild Elves for these reasons.

Wild Elves lacked the elegance and restraint of elves, but possessed similar lifespans, intelligence, and extraordinary powers. They were therefore usually regarded as unstable elements.

They were generally active in rural and township areas, and commonly worked as con artists, assassins, or mercenaries. In theory, all the Wild Elves within the capital city of "Glass Island" were registered. If any of them caused trouble, they could easily be identified, so freedom-loving Wild Elves generally disdained staying in the capital.

Yet for some reason, the Wild Elf bartender showed no reaction when he saw Hai Na. He merely glanced at her disdainfully.

Instead, when he saw Iver, the bartender clearly froze, even pausing his hand for an instant.

Even though Iver was wearing a cloak, the bartender recognized his identity with ease.

—As if he had never imagined that Iver would be able to come here today.

...Why is that, Mr. Bartender? Did you think I... should already be dead by now?

Iver narrowed his eyes, his sea-deep blue pupils as profound as an abyss.

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