When I wiped his dirty face, Rene looked quite pretty.

''Hey, hey, brother. What will you feed me?

　I didn't use the language at all, though.
　For the time being, I knew that my hungry and weak stomach wouldn't be able to accept a heavy meal, so I bought some seafood soup from a stall near the guild and got a cup of it and handed it to them.
　When Rene received it, he began to drink a little at a time. It seems to have a cat's tongue. I don't think it's a good idea to put it in your stomach all of a sudden, so it's just fine.

'Wait here for a moment.'

　I make Rene wait there and go straight into the guild. I present the guild card I got back from my wallet and withdraw some money. It was really only a little bit in there. When I returned from the guild, I walked out with Rene. I thought about going into a restaurant somewhere, but with Rene's sighting, I could be refused entry.
　In the end, I bought a few skewers from another stall and decided to eat on a bench in the square.

'Don't be in a hurry, just eat slowly.
"Hm.

　He was so hungry, he chewed the skewers with gusto and swallowed them into his stomach. Good match with Yae........

''Where does Rene live?''
'It's not set in stone. Sometimes I sleep in the park, sometimes in an alleyway. I used to stay at an inn with my dad...
Who's the father?
''A year ago, I went to defeat a magical beast and never came back. Dad was an adventurer...

　I see......... You were attacked by a demonic beast. There are times when a request to defeat a demon beast can result in the adventurer getting beaten back. In that case, I heard that if you are solo, you are often treated as a missing person.

''Where's your mother? Do you have any relatives or anything?
"Mom died when I was born. I don't know any of my relatives. Dad didn't talk much.

　Renee finishes her spit roast and wipes her dirty hands on her pants as she speaks.
　So his father was gone, and this kid was all alone. I don't know how he managed to live for a year after that.

After my dad left, I made friends with an old traveling lady in town who taught me how to pick pockets. I knew it was a bad idea, but I was so hungry...

　You've taught me a lot of unnecessary things, that old lady. But I can say that it's because of that that Rene was able to survive.
　Hmmm, this kid...I don't know what to do. He has no parents, no relatives. Even if I were to take her to an orphanage or something, she's already a criminal.... From what I've heard, he only steals when he's in trouble, but since he's a child, I'm not sure if he can be tolerated....
　It seems that there are quite a few such children around here. If they don't steal, they're just going to die in the wild. These kids are also struggling to survive. I understand that. But that doesn't mean it's okay to steal, though...
　There's no way they're going to hire me somewhere and... If I leave it like this, I'll probably end up pickpocketing again. Then I might get caught one day.........
　 I don't care what they say. It's a fact that I'd like to help you if I could.

''........Renee, do you want to work for us?
What?
You don't have to worry about where you live or what you're going to eat. But you'll work hard, and we'll pay you a decent wage. We'll pay you what you deserve. How do you like that?
'What? What? Will you let me work? Really?

　Rene looks at me with a surprised expression. I'm confused by me suddenly saying such a thing, but a light dwells in my eyes in anticipation.

'However, it's on the condition that you never use pickpocketing techniques again. If you break that, I can't have you working for me. Can you protect it?
'Uh-huh! I'm never using it again! I promise!

　I lightly pat Renee's head as she nods with vigor. I'm going to let Yumina's magic eye judge the nature of it, but I think she's a good girl, Rene.
　Alright, if you decide to do so, let's go home.
　It's fine to use the "gate" to return home, but we'll walk back to help them remember where we are.

'Oh, isn't it this way?'
My house is this way. West Ward.
West Ward?

　Rene, who had been pointing towards the East Ward, turned around in surprise. Are you that surprised?
　We took Rene through the South District and into the West District. We passed through the gradually spreading residential area and up a gentle slope to higher ground. If only this hill wasn't there, it would be easy.

''By any chance...Brother Fuyao, are you a nobleman?
You're not a nobleman. I've been almost done.

　Rene asks me if I'm starting to feel uneasy about the out-of-place place, or something like that. A nobleman would live in the inner periphery, not the outer periphery, but that's not always the case. Low-ranking nobles and fallen aristocrats may move here. There are even some rich merchants who live here.
　As we climbed up the high ground, we saw our house with a red roof. I look up and see Renee looking at me with a stunned look on her face.

''This is my brother Fuyao's house!
That's right. Oh, good job, Tom.
Oh, it's quite unusual for a master to come home from the gate.

　Tom, the gate keeper, laughs and says something like that. Well, I don't blame him for thinking that, since we always travel by "gate".
　We enter the property through the service entrance next to the gate. I walked straight down the garden walkway and opened the front door, just as Lapidus-san and Cecil-san were cleaning the entrance hall.

''Oh, sir? Welcome home. It's so rare to come home through the front door, isn't it?
Welcome home~. Oh? That boy~?

　Cecil-san stares at Rene intently. Perhaps embarrassed to be seen, Rene hides behind me.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. I'll be working here from today, so it's nice to meet you. You can see that. A proper hello.
''Uh........Renee, sir. Nice to meet you....

　What, you're looking like a borrowed cat. Are you nervous? Well, that's what happens when you suddenly bring them to a place like this.

Where is Mr. Lime?
I took a cup of tea for Lady Yumina in the living room.

　I walked into the living room with Renee. I sat her down in a chair and explained the situation to Lime.
　Yumina silently listens to it while she stares at Rene. She must be looking at it with her demon eyes. Eventually Yumina gave a small smile. You see, he's not a bad kid with roots.
　After confirming that with a sideways glance, Lime-san opened her mouth.

''I see. I understand the situation. But it's annoying to have you work with a half-hearted idea. 'You said Renee, didn't you?'
Uh-huh.
'Do you really want to work here? Failing or causing trouble for our servants, in and of itself, is fine. Can you promise that you will learn from it and not run away from it?

　With a piercing look, Lime asked Rene, I thought he was being a little too strict with the kids under 10 years old, but since I wasn't in the mood to interrupt him, I kept quiet.

I'm sure you're right. I want to work here. I want to stay with Fuyao-chan.

　Catching Lime-san's eyes straight, Rene replied firmly. Our butler, who had been staring at it, huffed and relaxed his expression and stood up with a smile.

The first thing you need to do is to take Renee to the bathhouse. Wash her in every nook and cranny.
Okay. Come, Renee-chan. Let's take a bath.
'What? What?

　Cecil-san pulls Renee to the bathroom.

''Lapis, go buy some clothes that will fit that girl. Oh, and make sure to order a custom-made maid's outfit as well.
'Yes. Sir, I'll borrow your bicycle.

　Ms. Lapis slinked out. By the way, she and Cecil-san have managed to ride a bicycle in a few hours. That's what Goniakata is all about.

''After you get out of the bath, let's have you wear my clothes for a while. I'm sure they won't fit, but it's just until Lapidus-san comes back.

　Yumina said and sat up. I guess she's going to take her clothes to the changing room. As Yumina leaves, I lean back in my chair and think idly. Eventually, Lime came over and put the tea on the table in front of me.

'Should I have left him in an orphanage or something, after all? I don't know if it was too much to ask...
'I think that's for Renee to decide. For now, I think we should just accept the fact that your husband saved one girl from poverty.

　Yeah, you're right. Let's not worry about it. It was the thing I wanted to do, so I did it. That's all. You are the king's steward, after all. You're a man of your word.
　But what Renee did was wrong. I'm sure he will pay for what he did. I'll see if I can count on you to help me out. Your Majesty.
　...hmm?
　I hear a slamming, slamming sound running down the hallway. Bang! And the door opened and Rene jumped in with a bath towel wrapped around her body. The one being held up in her hands is our white tiger cub.

''And, brother Fuyao! A tiger! There's a tiger cub!

　Amber turns her head towards us with a disgusted face. Yeah, I understand the feeling.

''Lord.......who is this baby girl and what is she?''
"? The tiger speaks...?

　Good grief, it's so noisy. You need to put your clothes on. He's a bit shabby. It's getting louder and louder, this house is getting more and more........
　There's something hanging from Renee's neck. A pendant, huh?

Renee, what's with the pendant?
This? It's my mom's mementos that my dad gave me. I've had this one for a long time.
Can I just see it?

　Renee handed me the pendant in my hand. As it is, she is taken away again by Cecil-san, who rolled up his sleeve and took her to the bathroom. I'm so busy.
　I look at the pendant in my hand. This is gold, isn't it.... I'm sure it's of considerable value. It's a wing-spread design with a huge inverted triangle of jewelry set into the center. It's an emerald... no, it's a magical stone, the magical stone of the wind.
　On the back is ... a crest.

Mr. Lime... do you know where this crest is from?
'Gryphon and shield, and twin swords and laurel....I don't think I've ever seen that before...'
If you're saying this is a memento, then maybe Rene was born a good cousin?
'It's hard to say. It might not be Renee, but her parents, or even more so their parents, who just happen to have gotten their hands on it.

　Okay, so it's possible that what you picked up was passed down from generation to generation. But if they picked up something that looks so expensive, they'd probably report it or sell it off. Since Rene's father is dead, I don't know what the truth is.......

''At least we don't have anything like this on the coat of arms of the nobles in Belfast. It's the Empire that has a lot of griffon coats of arms.......''

　Empire. The Regulus Empire of the East. They don't get along very well with Belfast... Rene's father might have been a fallen nobleman of the Empire or something.
　Either way, it's best not to be too open about it. When I get to know someone from the Empire one day, I'll just ask them about it.