The Silent Pact of a Wolf Babysitter
Chapter 90: Master Ruben, Am I... C-Cute?

Chapter 90: Master Ruben, Am I... C-Cute?

"Here," Jobina said, handing me a wristband.

No... it was—

"Alicia’s bead!" I exclaimed, snatching it from her. "This thing’s dangerous, you know."

Jobina nodded. "Yeah. When I put it on, I felt like my life was already over."

I squirmed.

Why would anyone want to wear something like that so casually?

To eagerly perish?

Then again, maybe she didn’t know what it could do.

Still, I was surprised it had withstood that colossal clash earlier.

It wasn’t called an ancient magical item for nothing.

Jobina and I were making our way north, searching for the heart of Coastelle. The wind was picking up.

I should’ve covered Levi and Alicia with some sheet or something...

Well, it’s not like Levi needs that kind of pampering, and Alicia’s dragon form could handle this kind of cold.

"Aren’t you surprised?" I asked. "By how this place works? It feels... kind of chaotic, doesn’t it?"

Jobina smiled. "Not at all... Actually, I don’t torment myself by thinking about things too much."

"Ahhh, I know how that feels!" I chuckled. "It’s just easier to let things flow, and then just adjust when needed."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Thinking too much is a pain."

"But..." I added, voice softening, "it’s still important, you know?"

She tilted her head slightly.

I went on. "It’s fine if you’re alone or just living freely. But if people are relying on you... if you’ve got someone behind you—"

My gaze met her moon-green eyes.

"—you’ve got to think. About the future. About what will make them happy."

She looked down at the grass as we walked, thoughtful.

"I guess you’re right," she said quietly. "Lately... I have been... thinking. More than I usually do."

She nudged me playfully with her shoulder.

"I... I have been wondering what it’s going to be like now that I’m part of your group. I want to be useful—and learn as much as I can from you."

Yeah. When you have people depending on you, you start thinking along those lines.

But... it’s a nice kind of thinking. A fun, warm one.

Ah, that reminds me—

"Oh, uh... Bina," I said casually.

She flinched.

"You don’t mind, right?"

"N-No, I don’t," she replied sheepishly. "And... I can call you Ruby?"

"You’ll get killed, you know?" I snorted.

"I was just kidding. Big Sis Alicia can be really scary."

BIG SIS ALICIA?!

That’s a first!

I chose to ignore that power shift and kept the conversation moving.

"So, why do you want to learn from me?"

"Because... I want to be strong," she said, clenching her fist.

"Sure, I get that," I waved it off. "I meant, why do you want to be strong? What’s your ambition?"

I always tended to ask everyone this question. Somehow, it just slipped out whenever I met someone new.

Maybe knowing people’s goals helped me figure out whether to root for them—or roast their eccentricity.

My way to be entertained, perhaps.

Bina scratched her head. "That’s... a really hard one. Can you give me something simpler?"

Ah. She’s an idiot.

"Simpler how?" I asked, folding my hands behind my head. "It’s your goal. I can’t answer it for you."

I looked up at the night sky, then rephrased.

"When you finally become the strongest—what would you do?"

Mhm. That one seemed to land.

"Ah!" she beamed. "I’ll rule my clan with an iron fist, and make them suffer tenfold what they made me go through!"

...Poor Bina’s Clan.

As if she probably wasn’t already ruling her clan with an iron fist.

But I think it was obvious now—

"Bina," I said, staring straight at her. "You don’t actually have a goal or ambition, do you?"

"Ehhh?!" She jumped like a startled child. "I do too! I just told you—I’ll enslave my entire clan and force them to use the toilet!"

"Hey!! I never heard that from you!!" I yelped. "And what the heck is that punishment?! It sounds really terrifying!!"

Seriously, if anyone from her clan overheard this nefarious plan, they’d start hunting her down immediately.

Also—what does she mean by "force them to use the toilet?"

Is that some kind of metaphor?

"Well," I cleared my throat, regaining composure. "If you’re going to be my, uh... disciple," I added, a bit shy to even say it, "you’ll need a real goal. An ambition. Something that’s yours. Okay?"

I raised a finger. "I’m sure you’ll probably wonder why. But having goals keeps you grounded. It gives you a direction—somewhere to climb. Something to reach for. With success in mind—wait, why are you blushing like I’m reciting a love poem?!"

Midway through my heartfelt preaching, Bina had started hiding her face behind her hands, cheeks redder than hot coal.

"Well..." she mumbled, "I... I never thought you’d actually fully accept me. But hearing you call me your disciple just now—it kinda... made me really happy."

"O-Oh... you don’t say..." I turned away, trying to hide my own fluster.

Why was this suddenly getting embarrassing?

"If I ever come up with something I really want to do," she said softly, "I’ll tell you, Master Ruben."

The way she said it... This conversation was drifting into awkward territory.

Time to change the topic!

But speaking of goals and ambition... wasn’t Bina basically still a kid?

Like maybe 17 or so. It’s plausible she hadn’t gotten her ambitions clearly.

"Uhm, Bina," I asked, casual again, "how old are you, actually?"

"Jeez, Master," she pouted, crossing her arms, "haven’t you heard? You’re not supposed to ask a lady her age!"

Eh?! Really?

Well, I do feel like I’ve heard something like that before.

But why? Was that just some kind of ancient taboo?

However, before I could apologize, she laughed.

"I was just kidding," she chirped, latching onto my arm like a stray kitten.

"I don’t care much about those things. I just wanted to seem cute for once."

"You rascal," I beamed, tugging on her ear gently. "How much cuter do you plan to get?"

I meant it casually, playfully—but apparently, that one landed like a critical hit.

Bina froze. Shivered.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, tilting my head. "Do you need to pee?"

"I wish..." she muttered.

I was trying to be funny there, but she actually answered that!!

She then turned to me, her face beet red. "M-Master Ruben..." she almost whispered.

"Am I... c-cute?"

She asked it like she was confessing a crime, like it was wrong to even ask.

Could it be—Bina doesn’t think she’s cute?

She doesn’t have confidence in her appearance? freewёbnoνel.com

I mean, sure, her chest leaves a little to be desired, but—

"You’re plenty cute," I said, shrugging. "At least, I think so."

She started trembling again.

"So... So I’m cute enough to be likeable?"

"Uh... yeah, why not?" I answered. "You’re better looking than a lot of humans I’ve met. Actually, more than some deities too."

She covered her face with one hand.

Maybe—no one had ever told her that before.

But then, quietly—she asked:

"Then why do my clan members... not like me?"

It sounded like a simple question.

However, there was something heavy beneath it.

But, so her clan doesn’t like her, huh...?

I see. Her clan members are not weirdos.

Because it is very important to stay away from folks like Bina—or you could get killed.

Still... that doesn’t make it any less painful.

Despite everything, she’s still a girl.

Still a kid, trying to belong.

Sigh.

I didn’t have much to say, honestly.

Except maybe a few more severe comments about her irrationality.

But let’s be positive—

"You see, Bina dear," I began, shifting into my old-leader persona, complete with the wise-man tone, "not everyone is going to like the way you live your life. Not everyone will accept your values—especially if they contrast with theirs."

She was listening now.

"Despite my compassion for humans, they rejected me to the very end. And I won’t sugarcoat it—it hurt. Being rejected like that."

She was now staring at me like the divine sage, I was.

I went on, "But when I left Gihon and ran into these new lunatics for companions—just yesterday, actually—I’ve been smiling genuinely ever since. A smile I had wanted humans to give me... but had never received."

We stopped walking. I looked up at the moon nestled inside that dark, sea sky.

"These crazy bunch accepted me. Granted, they’re a little too accepting. Don’t tell them—but I’m glad they exist. They’ve become my new reason. My new goal is to keep them happy... since they bring happiness to me."

I turned to Bina. "Here, we don’t judge. Well, actually, we do—but it doesn’t matter. All of us are eccentric in our own ways. Tamayō and her gang nearly destroyed the realm just an hour ago."

I patted Bina on the head.

"So don’t worry. You already forced yourself into our lives, and guess what? We’ve caved. Only someone as deranged as you could pull that off. Be confident—you’re actually my type, you know."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yeah. If you had a few more features, that is."

Her face fell. "Master, you had to ruin the moment..."

Eventually, she revealed her age to me: 318 years.

I mean—wow. And she still hasn’t found her ambition yet?

I also told her mine—320. We were basically age mates. And here I was acting like some ancient, enlightened father figure.

We resumed walking, falling into step again.

I asked her what her favorite thing was.

Without hesitation, she beamed and declared—