HH Chapter 36

“Let’s meet back here at the appointed time. Most of the alleys lead to the plaza, so you won’t get lost.”

“Wow…”

I looked around. It was a city with a different charm from Asileth. 

I could hear the murmur of conversations from people wearing fluffy fur hats. Perhaps because it was a cold region, a large statue stood in the middle of the plaza instead of a fountain. Behind the statue of a goddess, blindfolded and holding a sword towards the sky, I could see a temple.

I glanced at Haylan, who had been quiet for a while. Noticing my gaze, the head butler said,

“The young master has been sleeping since earlier.”

“Sleeping?”

I turned my head to check Haylan’s face, but since he was nestled against my shoulder, I couldn’t see if his eyes were actually closed.

‘I want to see too!’

I was curious to see how angelic he looked while sleeping. Come to think of it, I had never seen Haylan sleep in the game either. The head butler extended his hand and pointed to a shop with a yellow awning.

“That shop over there sells children’s clothing as well. The post office is also right down that alley.”

He told me the time we would meet later.

“Please take good care of the young master. And please refrain from calling him by name when we’re outside as much as possible.”

“I have that much common sense, Head Butler.”

I adjusted Haylan in my arms and winked. The head butler shrugged at my gesture, gave a light nod, and walked away.

He left Haylan entirely in my care. I felt a sense of pride, as if I was being trusted. It’s always a pleasant feeling to feel someone’s goodwill towards me, in whatever form.

Lightly rubbing the bridge of my nose, I was about to head towards the clothing store when a faint floral scent momentarily caught my attention.

“Would you like to buy some flowers?”

“Just a small bouquet, please. I’d like to put them in a vase.”

They were the flowers my mother loved. Every winter, I used to buy a large bouquet and hang them on the wall or put them in a vase. It was my way of commemorating my parents’ death anniversary.

After being trapped in this world, I couldn’t keep track of any dates. Unlike my world, where a year had 365 days, the number of days in a year here changed every year, and I didn’t even know if the time here was parallel to the time in the real world.

“Why are you buying flowers? Who are you giving them to?”

“You’re awake?”

“I wasn’t sleeping. I just had my eyes closed.”

Haylan pulled the ‘Oh, Daddy’s not sleeping’ trick. I knew he was lying, but I didn’t argue.

“There’s a vase in the room, so I thought I’d put them there.”

“Oh, I thought it was someone’s birthday or something…”

Speaking of birthdays, I suddenly became curious. Haylan’s profile had never been officially revealed.

“Speaking of which, when is your birthday?”

“The last day of July.”

I mentally calculated the date. His birthday had already passed a few months ago, from the day we first met.

“It’s long past. Should I buy you a present even now?”

“A present? Why…? I don’t usually celebrate it.”

“Oh, come on, it’s a special day! It’s nice to be congratulated!”

“Why bother? You’ll understand when you’re my age.”

He frowned and said indifferently.

‘Did I say something wrong?’

Wondering if there was a reason he didn’t celebrate his birthday, I watched Haylan’s expression carefully, and he added in a dry tone,

“Why are you being so cautious? Don’t take it so seriously.”

“……Haha.”

Was he joking? I belatedly relaxed my expression and smiled, but Haylan just turned his head away with a huff.

‘How am I supposed to get his affection to 100 with this attitude?’

I usually trusted the system in most situations, but I was doubtful about Haylan’s affection points towards me. His attitude towards me was still cold.

“You.”

“Me?”

“When’s your birthday?”

“I don’t really know. It’s around this time, though.”

Haylan looked at me strangely when I said I didn’t know my birthday. But there was a reason. My birthday, according to this world’s calendar, didn’t exist.

A year in this world consisted of 14 months. And there were months with only a little over ten days, and others with up to 40 days.

November only had 19 days, so I didn’t know whether I should celebrate my birthday, which was the 20th, on the last day of November or the first day of December.

‘So I celebrated both.’

Therefore, I decided to think of it as having two birthdays. The more anniversaries, the better. 

It’s not about having a huge party or receiving double the gifts. It’s because my mood for the day changes when I think of it as a special day, even if no one else acknowledges it.

‘I wonder what it would be like if the setting of this place wasn’t a horror game but a normal genre?’

I didn’t bother asking why Haylan spent his birthday meaninglessly.

‘It’s probably because there’s no need to, according to the system.’

In the game, no one celebrated anniversaries. Not only were birthdays never mentioned, but the NPCs simply mechanically performed their assigned functions in their respective positions.

Everything was predetermined. Everything operated according to the rules of the world. Even these people weren’t real… Thinking that way made me feel a little sad.

After pushing through the crowd and entering the clothing store, I took advantage of Haylan going into the fitting room to change and looked around. I wondered if there was anything I could buy for him.

Then, in a section filled with trinkets and accessories for children, I picked up a faded purple ribbon. Compared to the predominantly red and yellow ribbons, it seemed less overwhelming with its lower saturation.

“Is this a gift for the little master?”

“He won’t dislike it, will he?”

“Of course not! It’ll suit him well.”

I secretly paid for it. Haylan, who had just come out of the fitting room wearing clothes that finally fit him, looked up at me. Haylan in his new clothes was so adorable that I wanted to press the screenshot button dozens of times¹. 

“Young Master.”

“……?”

He flinched slightly, and as I lowered myself to his height, he continued in a small voice, “Why are you calling me that?”

“The head butler told me not to call you by your name outside.”

I had taken the head butler’s words to heart. If I mentioned Haylan’s name carelessly, there was a chance it could reach the ears of those pursuing him.

‘Actually, it’s more his face than his name…’

Wherever he goes, people glance at Haylan. Logically, wouldn’t his strikingly beautiful appearance be more of a problem than his name? But seeing how he wasn’t sensitive about covering his face, it seemed like it didn’t matter.

‘I guess his face hasn’t been revealed yet.’

Thinking so, I sat down at Haylan’s eye level. When I raised my hand and draped the ribbon around the back of Haylan’s neck, he flinched in surprise.

“It’s a present.”

“A present? But my birthday already…”

“Hey, it’s not a belated birthday present or anything meaningful. I’m just giving it to you, so please accept it.”

“Why are you giving me a present?”

“I bought it because I thought it would suit you.”

I tied the light purple ribbon I had just bought around Haylan’s neck. It would probably have suited him regardless of the color, making my careful selection seem pointless.

‘…Ah, so cute!’

Haylan, looking awkward as he accepted my touch, was so cute that I lightly kissed his cheek. Haylan flinched and raised his hand to cover his cheek.

“What are you…!”

“You’ll understand when you look in the mirror.”

I took hold of the flustered Haylan’s shoulders and led him to the mirror.

See? Even you think you look really cute, right?

“Do you like it?”

“…….”

Haylan fiddled with the ribbon’s knot with his small hands, then let out a small sigh.

“This doesn’t get you anything.”

“Oh, I wasted my money! I bought it to look good in front of you…”

[Haylan’s affection points increase by 1.]

His lips didn’t even twitch at my joke, but his affection increased.

‘He’s a funny kid.’

Since he kept fiddling with it, it seemed like he didn’t dislike the ribbon. He said primly,

“For your sake, since you wasted your money, I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Thank you.”

Don’t mention it. 

I smiled slightly at Haylan, who had a peculiar way of expressing gratitude.

After taking care of Haylan’s errands, we busily ran around here and there to take care of mine. First, we stopped by a nearby bookstore to browse the books, then went to the post office to send two letters to Odin.

And now, we were at a bakery, having swept up all the pastries and standing at the counter.

“Your younger brother is so cute. Hey there, little one! Do you like candy?”

“…….”

The bakery clerk was treating Haylan like a baby. Before he got annoyed, I accepted the candy she was trying to give to Haylan and thanked her on his behalf. Haylan didn’t voice his displeasure until we left the bakery.

“Who does that woman think she is, treating me like a fool? Where are we going now?”

“Well, I’m done with my business, but there’s still some time left.”

“……I thought you had some grand purpose.”

Even though we’d been looking around everywhere, all I had in my hands was a large box of pastries. Haylan mocked me, saying I had come out just to buy a few pastries.

‘Just pastries, he says!’

This was my leverage to stay in that house. I wondered how he would react if I told him that I had carefully selected all of these for him.

He would probably just scoff… 

I felt like I was getting a sense of how Haylan would speak and act.