## Chapter 125
—
Arthur accepted Willet’s proposal.
Besides, if he were to leave Arcane this time, he would be away for quite a long while.
If he didn’t see Julie now, he couldn’t be sure when the next time would be.
*‘And if I think about seeing the children of the Angel’s Home too… this is the perfect opportunity.’*
Having made up his mind, Arthur climbed into the carriage Willet had arranged.
Willet did not accompany him, instead remaining at *Manners Make the Man*.
“I still have some work left. I’ll join you later.”
As the carriage rolled away, familiar alleyways soon came into view.
Once they passed through, a quiet mansion at the outskirts of District B revealed itself.
Arthur smiled faintly.
“No matter how many times I see it… it always feels so heartwarming.”
In the future, it was this Angel’s Home that had saved his dying self.
Arthur gazed at the mansion’s scenery for a while, then stepped down from the carriage.
A maid sweeping the yard looked up.
“Who… oh? Hello!”
Arthur bowed his head politely.
“Hello. Willet sent me—”
“We were informed! Please, come right in!”
Arthur’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected warmth of her welcome.
The reason soon became clear.
As she led him into the mansion, the maid chattered nonstop about Julie.
“Julie has been feeling very down lately… and every day she talks about someone who broke their promise with her. She brings it up so often…”
Arthur’s lips curved into a small smile.
“And that ‘someone’ is me, perhaps?”
“Well… I can’t exactly say it’s not.”
Shrugging, the maid pointed toward the garden.
Arthur turned his gaze and let out a small exclamation.
*‘Julie… she’s grown so tall I hardly recognize her.’*
Last time, she had only come up to his knee. Now she nearly reached his waist.
Watching her changed appearance for a moment, Arthur suppressed his presence.
“Julie?”
“…!”
Startled, Julie turned her head from where she had been absentmindedly staring at the garden.
“U-Uncle Donn?”
“Oh dear, Julie also calls me uncle. I’m sorry, but I’m not quite old enough to be called that.”
“…”
Unable to hide her surprise, Julie’s shoulders twitched. Then, raising her eyes slightly, she turned her head sharply away.
Arthur scratched his head at her reaction.
*‘Hm… she’s really upset with me, isn’t she?’*
After some hesitation, he sat down heavily beside her.
Julie glanced at him, then turned her body the other way.
So Arthur stood, circled around, and sat across from her.
Pouting, Julie muttered,
“…Go away. I don’t want to talk to you, Uncle.”
“But I’m not an uncle, so that should be fine, right?”
“…Then I don’t want to talk to you, oppa.”
“That’s troubling, because I want to talk to you, Julie. Hm… then how about this?”
Arthur pointed beyond the Angel’s Home wall.
“To make up for breaking my promise with you, how about we go out right now and have some fun?”
Julie turned her eyes slightly.
“…Go out?”
“Yes. To the nearby shopping street. What do you say?”
Her face brightened for a moment, then darkened again.
“…We can’t. If I leave the Angel’s Home, Elder Willet will definitely get angry.”
Arthur grinned.
“Ah. If that’s all, then there’s no problem.”
“…Why?”
“Because we won’t get caught.”
“…?”
“If we don’t get caught, there’s no problem, right? Besides, Elder Willet would surely understand something this small.”
Julie blinked.
Arthur rose to his feet.
“It’s an outing with someone trustworthy. Elder Willet isn’t so narrow-minded that he’d make an issue out of that.”
—
—
While Julie was preparing, Arthur candidly told the maid he wanted to take her out.
After a moment’s thought, she nodded.
“Normally, it wouldn’t be allowed… but since you can be trusted, please just return by dinner.”
Smiling, Arthur leaned against the gate, waiting.
Before long, Julie peeked out wearing a yellow one-piece dress.
Arthur chuckled at the sight.
“You look pretty, Julie. Just like a little chick.”
“…Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Of course. Chicks are adorable.”
Julie pouted, glancing around nervously.
Arthur suddenly lifted her up.
“Wah!”
“Hold tight. We’re flying.”
With that, Arthur leapt.
Startled, Julie clung to his neck.
*‘I—I flew!’*
In a single bound, Arthur vaulted the wall. Spotting the carriage driver from earlier, he waved.
“To District A, please.”
The driver, cigarette in hand, blinked at the sight of Arthur carrying a girl in a yellow dress. Then he shrugged.
“Five silver, sir.”
“Here.”
Receiving the coin, the driver climbed silently onto the coachman’s seat.
Arthur set Julie inside the carriage and followed after.
Clatter—!
As the carriage set off, Julie let out a breath she’d been holding.
“W-we really escaped?”
“Of course. Did you think we’d escape *pretend*?”
“…Sometimes, Uncle, you’re way too reckless.”
“I hear that often. But it’s better than being stifled, don’t you think?”
Julie laughed—her first smile that day.
Arthur smiled along with her.
—
—
The carriage soon halted in District A.
Arthur stepped down first, Julie following.
“Wow…”
She gasped, marveling at the bustling, brilliant street.
“Th-this is District A, isn’t it, Uncle?”
Arthur nodded, then approached a nearby vendor.
Picking up a yellow cotton candy—matching her dress—he handed it to her.
“…What’s this?”
“Cotton candy. A lump of sugar you eat.”
“A lump of sugar?”
“Yes. Some like it, some don’t, but it’s worth trying.”
Julie’s eyes shone as she took a bite.
“…It’s delicious!”
Arthur let out a small exclamation.
“Oh? So you’re on the side that likes it. I can’t stand it myself.”
“How could you not like this, Uncle?”
“I just don’t enjoy eating lumps of sugar. Anyway, shall we walk?”
Julie nodded, and the two strolled down the most expensive street in Arcane, now crowded with people in the evening.
Julie gawked with curiosity at everything she saw, while Arthur quietly watched her.
—
—
After a while, Julie tugged on his sleeve.
“Uncle Donn.”
“Yes?”
“I want that.”
She pointed toward a terrace steakhouse café.
“Mm, good choice. We should eat dinner anyway.”
Julie quickly rushed to claim a table. Arthur sat opposite and raised his hand.
“Order, please.”
A waiter brought menus. Arthur ordered a simple steak, apple juice, and coffee.
Soon, the food arrived. Julie struggled to cut her steak.
Watching, Arthur gently took the knife and fork from her hands.
“But Julie…”
“Yes?”
“I heard you’re in your rebellious stage?”
Her face darkened.
“…Yes, I am.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Hm… But if you say it yourself, then you’re not.”
“…What do you mean?”
“True adolescence means you don’t realize you’re in it. But you said it yourself.”
Julie pressed her lips together.
“…No, I really am.”
“Then you’re just a cute adolescent.”
“There’s no such thing!”
“Why not? There are all kinds of people in the world. Why not cute ones?”
Julie frowned.
“Then what kind of adolescence did *you* have?”
Arthur stroked his chin.
“Me? Hm… mine came late. Around my late twenties.”
Her eyes widened.
“L-late twenties? That’s not adolescence!”
“Why not? There’s no age limit. If you feel down, it’s adolescence.”
“…Then what was yours?”
Arthur grinned.
“The whole world turned into a flower field.”
“…A flower field?”
“Yes. Then I realized, ‘Ah, adolescence has come.’ What else could explain it?”
Julie’s mouth fell open.
*‘A flower field? Why would adolescence turn the world into a flower field?’*
And for the first time, Arthur had revealed his age.
*‘If his adolescence came in his late twenties… then how old is he now?’*
She couldn’t hold back.
Arthur chuckled.
“Oh? Sharp question. But didn’t I tell you? I came from the future.”
“…The future?”
“Yes. I told you the first time we met. I’m from the future.”
Julie blinked, then giggled despite herself.
*‘Ah… so it’s one of Uncle Donn’s jokes.’*
Still, why did he make it sound so real?
Deciding to play along, she said,
“Sometimes your words are too hard to understand.”
Arthur shrugged.
“Is that so? Well, you’re still young, so it might be difficult. Anyway, done eating?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Shall we walk again?”
She nodded.
—
—
The two wandered the streets. Arthur bought her a penguin doll.
“Thank you so much, Uncle.”
“Only words?”
“…Should I give you a gift too?”
Arthur thought for a moment, then asked,
“How’s your bloodline training I taught you? Going well?”
Julie’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes! I can summon lightning freely now!”
“Oh? Excellent. Then next time, show me when you become lightning itself.”
Her eyes widened.
“B-become lightning itself?”
“Yes. You can do it.”
Julie frowned slightly.
*‘Even with a lightning bloodline… can I really become lightning?’*
It sounded impossible, but she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
*‘I don’t want to disappoint him.’*
So she nodded firmly.
“Alright, Uncle. Next time, I’ll be lightning.”
Arthur smiled and patted her head.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. When the time is right, you’ll be able to.”
“Yes.”
She waved the penguin doll’s flippers.
Arthur laughed softly at the sight.
As they walked further, Julie yawned widely.
“Want me to carry you?”
“…No. I want to play more.”
He didn’t press.
But after ten more minutes, her head began to nod.
“Now can I carry you?”
Julie clutched the penguin doll and climbed onto his back.
“Play more… Uncle…”
“Of course. We’ll play more.”
She smiled faintly—and soon drifted to sleep.
Arthur, listening to her steady breathing, hailed a carriage.
“To District B, please.”
Before long, they arrived back at the Angel’s Home.
Willet rose from a rocking chair in the yard.
“You’re late.”
“Time flew by with Julie.”
The maid, coming out just then, gasped.
“Oh my! You’re back!”
Arthur nodded, preparing to hand over the sleeping Julie.
But Julie clutched his collar in her sleep.
“…Don’t go, Uncle…”
The maid blinked, startled. Even Willet raised an eyebrow.
Only Arthur smiled, patting her back.
“I’ll come visit again, Julie. This isn’t goodbye forever.”
At that, she relaxed her grip.
Arthur passed her carefully to the maid, along with the penguin doll.
The maid hesitated, then whispered,
“Could you wait a moment?”
“Of course.”
She returned inside, then came back holding a large sketchbook.
“This is Julie’s. She draws in it every day.”
Arthur’s eyes widened. Willet quietly stepped aside, giving him space.
Arthur flipped through.
“Haha… she has no talent for drawing. These are awful.”
Crude drawings of a big house, two trees, dozens of children.
In the middle, an old man who must be Willet, the maid herself, and a blurry figure—Arthur—holding hands with Julie.
The drawings were rough to the point of messiness.
Even the maid chuckled.
“True. But check the later pages.”
“Oh? A twist, is there?”
Arthur turned the pages. His mouth closed in silence.
“Would you like to keep going?” the maid suggested gently.
He flipped further.
*‘The same. Every page… the same drawing.’*
Page after page, identical pictures.
But on the very last page, beneath the same messy drawing, were neat little words:
\[My hero, Uncle Donn, I wish you could live with us too.]
The handwriting was beautiful, unlike the clumsy drawing.
Arthur’s eyes widened at Julie’s small wish.
*‘I… am Julie’s hero?’*
A sigh of awe escaped him.
*‘So… to Julie, I am what Elder Willet is.’*
The saved and the savior.
Arthur unconsciously turned his gaze to Willet.
The elder puffed on his cigar, tilting his head.
“…What are you staring at?”
Arthur chuckled.
*‘Ah… it warms my heart.’*
A bond received from someone.
And that bond, without him even knowing, had reached someone else too.
