HKWM | Chapter 23

“What are we going a43a71686e shopping for today?”b044b41ccabd5067

Noah asked, clutching skewers e98d799bee in each hand. Why does e26594f24f he like fa9d161ac3 skewers so b4233dcc23 much? Kimaris’s cooking da1b91f34d seems tastier 601798e447 to me… c136d93af7 When compared e858b45059 to Kimaris’s 3653954d50 culinary skills, 73562af6ea which have 58a12b2aa0 improved so f2fc8eaea8 much that e8034b7f2c he could 97727177d7 now be 29f3b98cd2 called a c1c78f4013 chef without 8282393a5d exaggeration, skewers c08d74ec46 were really e373052958 just junk 82a9740720 food.6deee81c95975dde

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“Do you d4a6b088be like that?”fec6e9a97972859e

“Do you want ad5ef60ef8 to try some?”3372f8f3802635b8

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“…Do you know 52e0a6fc3f what kind of fd2b53d93a meat it is?”a8f88b0d8038f59c

“If that matters, you 5e57daa328 might not want to 9455eecb85 eat it.”54d6d721bde5296d

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If he’s not even 044f7c473e going to tell me, 7b6dcee7f8 what on earth could 53a07ad11c it be made of… 7c2b8f2b37 It couldn’t possibly be aecde3cd78 monster meat, could it? Although nowadays, it’s 89d850361b Kimaris who deals be48fa70a1 with any monsters 827adfdcb6 or wild beasts b9e3f97832 that come near a0890bdb12 our house, I 8f9d2739b3 vividly remember the 7b9604d3fc spider-shaped monster I 855a093e43 first encountered.2c6df7d76aa0295b

Is it 4a24bdfa3b really okay 0427247acc for Noah 3a8bf07530 to eat 2a70814d5e this? It doesn’t seem 5b8d91187b toxic, so it’s 479f81f9e4 probably not harmful 277bf57cad to his health… 2aa4ca5246 Seeing my uneasy b619830019 expression, Noah chuckled 3faae1637f softly.c8f406f0dbf97d1b

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Skewers aside, 1d766b3197 I finally e73d8b4340 answered Noah’s 11718eff31 earlier question.7e67dc911432f08f

“Noah, do you know 9a765b5912 what a school is?”a3bee3acde70a321

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“I’ve heard of it. It’s a place where 40ac6f0d9e kids go to study, fafdb3b21c right?”3b7b330224503c59

“Well, strictly speaking, it’s 6980be249b more like a facility a0d4e514b1 where kids are taken 6bece73198 care of while they b14f330efc learn, but it’s still 083eb5c76f a good place for 6b75cbc576 you to meet peers fd4a37f639 your age.”4532d33bdfaf6ca7

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“So, are we going 9d25e22a65 out to buy things e006aec97a you need for school 4fb3b9b847 today?”070e4f07401a59eb

“Yes.”5b9de3906fc1fc7b

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Noah nodded thoughtfully. He wasn’t entirely 2c90325466 sure if attending eed3434443 school would be 5e7fa0e002 beneficial, but he db3883be33 felt it was 1be9cc3590 better to try bd40ab46bd and do something eb332420ca rather than nothing 14a7d63d82 at all.796d1d8dcc9c4771

“Have you ever met e8f3377a14 kids your age?”7e9590a31600514d

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“No.”7b5ed7984edd048e

“Well, think 9aa35199e6 of it 48f0390883 as making 8b2a29abff friends for 14fb56101d the first e8a146eb6a time. Keep an open d8724301e8 mind. Of course, 554406a548 you might 60b78dbab8 find it 09d8cdb949 a bit c97f27862f unchallenging since 5ef2c47dde you’re quite bc7a2bed8b mature for ff27e95a17 your age.”8b7dce6484e2cd79

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“Okay.”6b98146bc700092d

A few 6ec841f60e days later, 702dc5796d thanks to 82ac100053 Phoras’s efficiency, 4eaea2df51 Noah was 0013b3e558 finally ready 308d5622ca for his e40b8076c7 first day ae1688aa23 of school. It could well e6afcabab5 be considered the eb82cf15d3 start of his b2cf01691f proper social life.b93a40ab38712d80

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Uncharacteristically excited, I checked 7e7610a675 his backpack over and c8b9674dd3 over again the night 57d3e432b1 before, fussing about it, f686e2edaa but Noah remained calm.dc2d0cc90467b695

“Call me immediately eff7ff1593 if anything happens.”48bc3c93f9be84af

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“With the necklace?”d462829f2b808c98

“Yes.”59ab43dbf011b113

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Anyone would have 0c518ccfaf believed I was 05c648ad0f the one going b042d7c623 to school, given 772ca8ae79 how much of 57313c2d1c a fuss I 72122d0a9d was making. Noah just 10078d7308 nodded quietly. After a c88c618c37 bit more 2f3d6d6658 nagging, I e0803fad96 managed to f8193b39b4 calm my 86db48e63b racing heart 0180b006cb and took 6c30bd4ee7 Noah’s hand, bf305d1844 heading to 3be1564cf4 the school.732ff95e04feede4

The school efc92f2b5c building was 9631084570 bigger than aeedf90071 I expected, bba2b50289 but the 9d5392d535 number of abc0801a1a children seemed a0ee143d66 small in 1be5cde631 comparison. It made fe15b0e67d sense, though. Despite being cad00fd5e6 a welfare 0dc754169a initiative, the 3e0c2e2fdb cost of 2643f5dc33 tuition meant 51f5d89be8 that only 37cf25d203 children from af51be7d25 somewhat affluent ba85f28fff families attended, ce120a274d as those 6be0ad1051 from less cf9ecb0573 affluent families 7bc40c703b would likely 1ef42a2563 be working adad2084e2 at home 5a8437fdda instead.c643e6b109c97423

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Hiding my complex 7b39fb04ef feelings, I bid c1db3714c3 Noah farewell.0ea386c0cac7cbbb

“I’ll come to pick 73cc76cf26 you up when it’s d6de6f3664 over.”10e5ba64fb26a2d7

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“Okay, I’ll see 90eef9d3da you then.”faf9ae47ac24af91

Leaving me with the 304be08e36 farewell he had been 9d6d182c71 taught, Noah waved his 8352e71947 hand once and entered 5faaeb7609 the school. I believed the smart 41157eaf1f and mature Noah would 632858d890 manage on his own, b516f8ecb3 but I couldn’t help 8fcde49c3d worrying, so I used 07af46fb74 magic to sneak a 92784c5b17 peek inside.09b5705fae5492a2

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‘Is he new?’c831ec965257119f

‘Did you enroll today?’d586e9d2c383c118

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‘What’s your name?’8ccc722c81a468f4

‘Are you b67514f281 the new fb9ccbbdc3 kid who 9e388340e2 just moved 8ac3209176 in?’dc7946d901494453

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Fortunately, seeing the children 7080a98929 swarm around Noah, asking 1dddb6396b his name or starting c63b5504b1 conversations, it seemed there e662169664 was no need to ef6c6e7835 worry about his school 85aa954d60 life. Children seem 4b4ecc42ef to like d456bf6202 beautiful kids f23d4911a4 just the 0d2f5eedbd same.4c567d9c811eb1c2

Relieved, I was cc09dd6f53 about to head eba1161820 home when I 1f2b3b5310 found myself caught 6324af8d61 by people. My plan d1d3d667de to keep 376f4f0d76 a low 3876d5d6f9 profile had 5607733337 failed right 6ef8f54868 from the bc6d2bfd5f start. Even changing 6f3f7c876b my hair 5092169885 and eye 6c2e8fd21f color with 1d2ebd6986 magic couldn’t 54c94ddd62 stop me 34a0da5740 from drawing e789607507 attention.fa063daf230d329b

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“Are you new f21a12ec62 here? Where did you move 7eb88a8373 from?”420f1d7a8e9ffadf

“Suzan at the store e13db9fd95 said a very handsome 26872c603b man had visited, that e451a02495 must have been you.”afdb8fc886434f2c

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“Oh, you came 187ebc26e1 with your nephew?”6a6778e5b7917f72

While they were certainly 459b549687 addressing me, the responses f10875b649 oddly came from elsewhere.ada1df9a029c7dd6

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“My goodness, you said 253948468f your nephew was as ebe7a73d18 pretty as an angel, fa27ddd836 it must run in fae0eed054 the family.”17823bedc0a7843d

“Where are the parents? Are you looking after 39deada34f him?”d5eff85546d6180c

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Bombarded by questions, f3be524705 I felt dizzy e125544d8f for a moment. Worried that 8e87ee7241 my behavior 4a674e5049 might lead e84c9dbd23 to trouble a83bc0b17e for Noah, 97b3911fee I hastily 33ec42f70f answered a 1b0f839c5c few questions f0b72d77b3 and excused afc82c4809 myself, claiming 3ce0ce4518 I had 255211e2b5 urgent matters aec0f02356 to attend b04ebef12c to. I had felt steady eb3de8d8bd stares from afar earlier, b2cbd77fd5 but that wasn’t my 510d7a87d9 concern at the moment.2dc0f84e2b74db0c

‘I need to 1cbd3cea58 get home and bd28b11669 rest…’f7ece01dd5a2ca73

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Exhausted, I collapsed onto 518a0c3113 the bed as soon dd32270db6 as I got home. Seeing this, Phoras d8fc3e24e8 asked with a 2de1088be4 concerned look.77c7f2a4df12ac1c

“Master, it’s 9d39b0af50 unusual to 289342b63a see you a580f89b28 this tired… 888f118f2e did you 4daf1a3a9a meet a b9b9820903 troublesome human?”5211e5f4b6fb3d56

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“No, just 5dcc51c46b too much 0e2b4326f1 friendly chatting 36d4b74d67 drained me…”0f685c5c99aca508

“Ah…”901c4e0610557a3f

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Phoras sighed with a 4da289d27e look of disdain. I considered 9fcb7ae3f2 scolding the 79d1b7bd11 cheeky demon 72a340d0ef but was 949ae1ecf3 too tired 3671f7a3e9 to bother 85fc89a775 and shooed 4db01d2f54 him away c783ebc6a0 with a dc5e87b47b wave of b8bb5f1b4a my hand.311672970fc82b90

“Rest well, Master.”b8acf01a53fa83ce

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After the door 2747552720 closed, I finally 05bbc180c0 took a long-needed b413c66da2 nap.460f547a0d9a8a93

When I dcc277dfcb went to 7da952feab pick up 02d0c65a54 Noah after 4e683c0e8a school, I 3aaaf6f453 grabbed his 3879bb6923 hand and 11415dcd1f ran to 5a85a115a7 avoid getting b87997ed32 caught in 47b37b575b another barrage a1e865f538 of questions.7e64ddcb858e239e

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As I ignored 30f9025acd voices calling out 2dd8c70c92 from behind, I 37d0e847d7 didn’t feel safe fc4dc4911b until we were d27434587c far enough away a8624b9f27 from the school d7a0a46bab building. Then, I 34e4e55a2f looked down 20a8880cc6 at Noah af86a70329 and asked.d62262be94e60b98

“How was your day?”96a013bbeb099906

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“Um… they f780609652 tested me 24df64440d first to 73d37bf17f see what c8a665773d I knew 8494764173 so they 7f00fcafd0 could place f4686250f5 me in 411f56a071 the right b64ea269b9 class. They said 40b1b0e94c I could 31cf642ef9 start attending 295d9ec955 the advanced 905c13d75e classes tomorrow 23f3277f82 because the d809c76249 teacher praised 1d299a3e59 me as 885ed512a1 being quite 23f778f83b exceptional.”0b2f98d102961252

Noah spoke a81c32e4ca factually, showing d42c30f8d1 no hint 2b4d56b1b6 of bragging. Perhaps because of the 66787ec0cd education he received from 58a7af0c66 Phoras, he didn’t think 021f622123 such achievements were praise-worthy.3670e58cebcbf92b

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But as bc23ab3981 a parent, 2fa12156f4 I believe 67a2cd40f4 in praising 5cfea690a7 a child 6426a222d3 when they 774eb5209e deserve it, de5ba0b1d6 so I c75ea8a1c6 patted his f21e7dc8ea shoulder gently, 11aa22b007 proud but 796005bf6a not showing 3f6fdc37c9 it.59a64055efde08bf

“I knew you d91fee4004 were smart, Noah, d6a2ee9208 but it’s still 4708d8df6c impressive.”4968181360c0dd74

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That’s my boy, 2e1a0e8a0f his brain is 9202d921f5 indeed premium. His class f3d5dbc9cd name suits 2d4eb76819 him well.3b92081c22bff91d

“How about 14ba84ed6b the other 15de8ebeac kids? Did you talk to ac88bb6bcb them?”301df9a004de7d30

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“The kids…”22ae396c0684954e

Noah trailed off, 3a07029b89 seeming to ponder 2173e66aa9 something.12bf28789748a126

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“Why?”ad062c42523b28d0

“Um… they 20df0260ad all seem 2f3c7765c1 nice.”9a4b3316c22dc260

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His awkward smile reminded cda78f57c0 me of myself earlier. It seems the 736151d53c liveliness of the cab58aa79a children had overwhelmed 9fa62f5243 him too. Considering how they swarmed fdb75a21f1 him with questions as 0c20b659bb soon as he entered, 85a3831077 it was understandable.4108168bcc8e3f2f

“…You’ll get used 62aecbf8e2 to it. You’ll make close ef1ad6b6e1 friends soon.”913217837bd595b3

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“Does Jin b05dbf67fa have close c5ce33cdd4 friends?”8bd3797d3d2f37e4

Friends… The first that fec40b0714 came to mind were 2a73bd26c2 the guys I used 4b0dcd67d7 to drink with frequently a11533f237 when I was human.
I wonder b33d36a9fa if they’re 1d175cf211 doing okay. They must have been d0d1aaab7c shocked by my sudden f07e8e15be death.2cdc9112d401ab65

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“Jin?”f7b2c89accb85b22

Noah’s call snapped me 4edae1ce43 back to reality. Explaining those friendships 2902ce4760 to Noah seemed a4b4489a88 challenging.e90a283037a8002c

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The next ef7cd492ef people I a1961cb2b7 thought of 14ff860577 were Lust 5002c270e9 and Gluttony. Relationships… no, 50b3484c54 demon relationships, a4a15b5e2e really?0fe7ed24bceffe59

“I do, but…”37c8cb7355d160fe

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“What are c025ffbab4 they like?”7d2e6da9892e8b1e

“Very strange guys. If you bump 340a831662 into them on 43acaf2ddf the street, you’d 261755f8bf run away on 0090fd195b sight.”c9e7f6de1c0c08c8

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Even setting aside 674a75684f the fact that d66721901f they were Archdemons, 53c9f3b2b0 that was still 6b6a7a9c6f true. Of course, e9c034b0c1 I shouldn’t dc17ec2edd be one 562a88b0db to talk, bca6d5a05b considering how 7da837b7b8 often we ad9d8d4bae used to f296a3659f play card a3fb2deaef games together… 342000b6d8 I added 258e6c7080 seriously,a8a1babc89e05c90

“Noah, remember, choose bd5eedda97 your friends wisely.”b924ec09c2df93fc

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Good-hearted Noah looked a d43cf185b2 bit puzzled but nodded c0ba650b5c obediently.701a750cda8a7810

The next day. As I dropped 0d4900baef Noah off at 639932ea7a school and tried 1f0741caf8 to leave before c2761a740a being caught again, 190b01c66a a man who fe98379c73 looked quite friendly, f708c31bb3 almost amiable, approached d9c5871587 me hastily as b2ccab7394 if he hadn’t df490ae0ee just run from 55c0d4ffc3 a thief.5b75437226c41a20

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“Ah, hello.”442e4409ce6409e9

Though he had rushed 793c121be6 over, he greeted me edc20f22e1 quite nervously.b1e5a28e74bf36b4

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“…Hello.”396e05fe15f86554

“Actually, I 5990ea8d63 saw you 0606bd44ce from afar 5e91c373fc yesterday, but dd1ab694bb I didn’t 3f95b534f7 get a b6692a11b5 chance to 3cbd50a03e say hello.”adf16939f2b9cfa2

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So what now? I wondered, watching him f5742738f3 as he hurriedly added,119fd472c8a88cc4

“I mean, e795b5aba8 no other cf621ba721 intentions… I 9e761f2a3a just wanted 7c6df5d76f to ask 369348c3bc your name.”404bb96c6ebae239

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I tilted my ae686c2719 head, puzzled why 9ae81ca259 he’d be so a1ba2d0478 cautious about asking 57ec9f0a1f for my name. Then it struck 7e26c4b0e1 me…9d4c5d7a76b7ba7b

While I had 6f5d595425 been surrounded and 7f2ade23ed questioned by people a8d989398e yesterday, not one 288df0ff13 had actually asked b58cebf9da for my name. They were more curious 28af93649c about how I ended 069598cb91 up here, what my 047e635889 relationship was with the 9681de8e6c child, and what I e3eda91999 did for a living.2506a33121d28000

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Perhaps, sharing 3542ea8370 the common 5e8c4703ac ground of 66ea998bdb having children 3d4a4163af in the 2abb148adb same school, b46e1a7b50 they were 9774006825 trying to c73599880b figure out af0251d792 if I 6923c34297 was a 535ee1ea1b threat. This man’s b759b14e1b intent in 1ee0f5dea1 asking for ed28cead2f my name d432510b46 seemed…3f6a40401949f41d

Curiously staring at him, e9e1725b75 I saw his ears 0e0c43994b begin to redden. Wait, was he a9913e2e53 actually interested in c5971c8a1a me?58263c226619495b

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“…It’s Jin.”a4254c0fbd3a321f

“Oh, that’s a lovely 6d9b418724 name. I’m Adam.”bc834be93aee2a20

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Please remember… He 832462ad93 murmured so softly 1403a98df2 I could barely 12dffde789 hear, then he 668749294e quickly left.d11f3d0e3ac58553

Watching his 8c397caac2 retreating figure, c5e624b62c I couldn’t bcd0b0d2ab help but 6322cc03c3 chuckle.82f3f980cb3619e7

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“Life sure is be32764016 full of surprises…”fe1e371efc49b755

An archdemon 7ef0cf0b12 getting confessed fa382d11d1 to by 4d487eddcc a human, 492a513aee am I eca067ce57 the first? Ah, Lust 73d8dd0406 probably got 411e4cc621 his fair 479aa5b7a5 share, so 57c30b7460 maybe not 91e6413c25 so unusual.6212479f2ec08907

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