Then wait.
Wait until the child's dream ends...
Then the old man could come back to the child...
And chat.
The old man remained silent.
The doubts in his heart grew more numerous as he viewed things from a third person's perspective...
The child was very nervous.
Maybe even a little afraid?
But hadn't the other person saved the child?
That was what the child herself had said.
There shouldn't be any mistake.
Then...
Under what circumstances would a child feel... afraid of the person who had saved her?
Her nervousness was understandable.
The child was nervous around him too.
Hmm.
Speaking of which...
The first time the child had seen him, she had been a little afraid as well...
He understood why the child was afraid of him.
He was tall and sturdy.
His face looked fierce too.
He wasn't particularly gentle by nature.
He didn't give people the impression of being easy to get along with.
Even some timid adults were afraid of him—
Ah.
A flash of inspiration struck the old man.
Could the uncle the child had mentioned...
Be like him...
Not especially gentle or friendly in appearance?
So even though the child knew her uncle had saved her, she still instinctively felt that he was a little frightening.
Just like the child was with him. He had given her gifts and helped her contact her parents, but when facing him, the child still couldn't help shrinking back from time to time.
It was a physical fear.
The immense difference in their body sizes naturally created a sense of oppression for the child.
Perhaps...
The uncle the child had mentioned was also... a rather large man?
The old man had a theory.
Ah.
Goldfish...
The child tightened her grip on