Chapter 44

Chapter 44

I walked for about five minutes with Jiyun in tow.

I walked without matching Jiyun's stride, and in no time at all, we arrived at Maestro's shop [per l'Imperatore].

"Wow......the building is shiny......."

The building looked very beautiful to Jiyun's eyes because it was designed with the Maestro's aesthetic sense.

After slowly setting her down on the ground with her eyes sparkling, I took her hand and led her inside where a well-dressed woman bows and greets us.

"Thank you for coming to [per l'Imperatore] Sir."

"Hello, pretty sister, I'm Jiyun."

Jiyun bows to the employee who bows to us, giving him a belly button greeting.

Once again, my in-ears started to go crazy.

[She's so cute!]

[What can I do, what can I do, should I also give a belly greeting when I meet her in the future?]

At this point, I was beginning to suspect that there was some sort of Jiyun fan club inside Corleone........

[Next on the fan club's agenda is a greeting that the young lady would like]

[I'm in favor].

[I vote yes].

......Really?

While I was preoccupied with the other members' conversations in my in-ear, something tugged at my arm and I looked down to see Jiyun looking at me.

"Big brother?"

"Huh?"

"Pretty big sister wants you to follow her."

"Oh, sorry."

I'm really dizzy.......

I wonder what they're doing when they're not at work.

While I was still wondering what the members of Corleone did, we reached the "room".

"The Maestro is in here. Please, have a good time."

The woman who had escorted us to the front of the Maestro's workshop the last time I was here bowed once more and disappeared down the hallway.

"Maestro? Maestro means straw!"

Jiyun confidently shouts out the word straw and the corners of my mouth turn up at the sight.

"'Yes, maestro means straw, but you can't say it to the person inside. He's Papa's friend."

"Straw? Friend? Yes!"

After a few quick pats on the head, I knock lightly on the door to the maestro's workshop, then grab the doorknob and turn it.

The door opens and the Maestro's figure appears as we enter.

"There you are, Master, and Miss."

Turning to the Maestro, who beams upon seeing us, Jiyun exclaims with a mischievous grin.

"Straw!"

At the same time as Jiyun's exclamation, I remembered something I had forgotten. Jiyun is a child, only seven years old.

It's an age where kids her age would want to do anything they shouldn't.

If there was a silver lining, it was the fact that.......

"Yes, I'm Grandpa Straw, hehehehehe."

Jiyun's attitude was too cute to be called rude.

Maestro looked at Jiyun who was smiling brightly and smiled along with her.

"Hahaha, you've got a lot of straws, now, fly far away~"

"Straw Grandpa is funny!"

With a smile that completely melted at the sight of Jiyun, the maestro quickly picked her up and played with her.

I wonder if he's a craftsman who has worked in one field for a long time.

The muscles in his arms as he lifted Jiyun were a clear indication of his physical strength.

"I heard from Don. Today, you're here to take care of the young lady's clothes."

Maestro, still playing with Jiyun, turns to me.

"Yes."

"Haha, that's good, because it means that my skills are recognized by such a valuable person, ahem!"

Carefully setting Jiyun down on the ground, Maestro bent down so that he was eye level with Jiyun, then spoke with a very gentle smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss. My name is Roberto Haber. I'm the grandfather that Don and you call Maestro."

"Yes, Grandpa Straw!"

"Haha! That's right, I'm Grandpa Straw to you."

Roberto laughs at Jiyun's playful jokes.

"I'm going to start measuring things like your height from now on. Do I have permission, Lady?"

"Lady......! Yes......!"

"Thank you."

After hearing Jiyun's answer, Roberto stood up and used his ability.

Then, just like before, a blue measuring tape appeared out of thin air, writhing like an animated snake, and began to measure Jiyun.

"Hmph, hmph, hmph, big brother, this is fun!"

Jiyun couldn't stop laughing as the tape measure kept moving.

At the same time, the tape measure disappeared in thin air, and Roberto clapped his hands and smiled.

"It's done. It's over quickly because the lady waited so patiently."

......Maybe it's because she's small, but it felt like it was over much faster than it was for me.

"Jiyun is quiet?"

"Yes. I've never met a lady who's so calm."

"Hee hee hee, straw grandpa is a good grandpa!"

"Thank you for your praise."

Stroking Jiyun's head, the maestro stood up and looked at the calendar on the wall.

"Since you're a petite young lady, your clothes shouldn't take long to make, though I'm working on yours right now, so I'll make sure there are no delays, and I'll contact you as soon as they're finished."

The Maestro smiles and bows to me.

"Thank you for your consideration. Jiyun, shall we go somewhere else now?"

"Huh? We're going somewhere else?"

Jiyun, who was playing in front of the full-length mirror, quickly turns her head and looks at me.

"Papa's errand is over, so we should have fun now, right?"

"Waaaah......!"

Jiyun smiles brightly at the mention of playing and hugs me tightly.

"You're the best!"

And the Maestro, who was watching, also smiles with satisfaction.

It's a little embarrassing, but......not bad.

After leaving [per l'Imperatore], we headed straight to our next destination.

[Master, the lady is out]

[All teams, move into position. The master's next stop is......family restaurant]

[Family restaurant? You mean the one run by Corleone?]

[No, a real family restaurant. Do you think a restaurant run by Corleone would be appropriate for a seven-year-old?]

[Oh, yeah]

True to the team leader's words in my in-ear, the next stop was an ordinary family restaurant.

Sure, there were restaurants in Corleone, but......they were more geared towards adults than children, and there wasn't enough food for kids.

Most of them were bars, pubs, or places to eat with wine.

So we decided to go to a family restaurant, which is classified as a hidden restaurant in the game's setting, rather than a regular......place.

"Brother, brother, look!"

Jiyun, who had been walking quietly while holding my hand, exclaimed as she pointed down the street.

We were in front of a store with a sign that said "Survival," and it centered around a game where you shot wood chips with a toy gun.

"Do you want to try that?"

"No......I want to watch my brother do it and......and......the dolls!"

Ah, apparently she wanted the doll that was hanging as a first-place shooting prize.

But there's a problem.......

[Not available to the Awakened]

The sign said.

"Uh......want to see your brother shoot a gun?"

"Yes!"

I turned and pressed my hand to my in-ear.

"This is Mama Bird. I need backup. Remind me to buy the shooting range up ahead."

[Affirmative]

The confirmation call drops at the same time, and I crouch down to lock eyes with Jiyun, making sure she doesn't look anywhere else.

"Jiyun's hair is disheveled here."

I casually stroke her hair and make her close her eyes.

At the same time, the voices of the bodyguard and the owner are heard in the in-ear.

[Uncle, please excuse me for a moment]

[No, what now──]

[Five million credits. Take this and rent us the place for 30 minutes, okay?]

[Of course. Yes. Make yourself at home~ Hehehe!]

[Done. You can come and go as you please]

"Okay, let's go, shall we?"

"Yeah!"

Satisfied that the situation was over, I picked myself up and looked toward the sign.

The words "Awakeners are not allowed." were nowhere to be seen.

As I walked over with Jiyun, the man with the awkward smile opened his mouth.

"Ah, what a pretty girl and a handsome student, especially since you're so pretty, I'll give you a free shot."

"Wow, thank you!"

Jiyun, who was very happy to hear that she was pretty, gave a navel greeting to the bodyguard disguised as the owner.

In response, the in-ears get noisy once again.

[Wow, I'm so jealous of that guy.......]

[What can I do, she's so cute!]

[I should have gone.......]

A navel greeting in exchange for five million credits.

The previous bodyguard team definitely deserved Jiyun's gratitude.

Of course, I could just charge it to the family as an activity fee.......

"Big brother, bam bam!"

Jiyun looked at me with sparkling eyes so I decided to give it my all.

"Okay, I'll get the biggest doll over there."

"Yes!!!"

After hearing my declaration, Jiyun nodded her head as if she believed me unconditionally and clasped her hands together as if she was praying.

Her eyes sparkled, then turned into fiery eyes as I realized how desperate she was.

I smirked and slid a corkscrew-like bullet into the muzzle.

"You have a total of three chances──student."

"Yes, sir."

I brace the buttplate against my shoulder and steady my breathing.

It would be cool for Jiyun to see me take them all down with all my heart from the first shot. Concentrating all my attention, I aimed at the spot where all the wood chips would fall and pulled the trigger.

- Boom!

The bullet flew through the air, grazed the wood chips, and fell to the ground.

"What a waste!"

"Big brother!"

The bodyguard team and Jiyun's exclaim at the same time.

I must have hit the right spot, but the wood chips didn't even budge, so there must be some kind of glue under the wood chips.

Or maybe he had placed stones or metal inside to increase the weight of the......wood chips. It was a common game center trap.

Since that was the case......I had no choice but to use that method.

I casually slide a bullet back into the chamber and mutter quietly into my in-ear.

"Contingency. Possible glue on wood chips. Sniper support needed."

[Confirmed.]

A red dot appears on the lowest wood chip but what's important is that the sniper fires the round as soon as the warhead hits the wood.

Of course, being a sniper on a bodyguard team, he would be able to see the cork warhead fly by and time his shot.

I pulled the trigger as a piece of cork flew in a straight line.

Swoosh!

At the same time, a brass-colored warhead flies out and hits a piece of wood, and the wooden tower collapses with a thunderous crash.

"Waaaaaah!!!"

Jiyun raises her arms in excitement at the sight of the crumbling wooden tower.

"You're really good!"

Although I succeeded in knocking down all of the wooden pieces......the first prize can only be won by knocking them all down with one shot. However, this did not apply to me, as I had already 'borrowed' the store.

"Congratulations, you've won first place, and I'll give you this giant doll as a prize!"

"Wow! A big bear!"

I thought it was a character doll I recognized from somewhere, but it was a big bear.

Holding the doll half her size with both hands, Jiyun walks over and looks up at me.

"Big brother!"

"Huh?"

"Jiyun is so happy today!"

Throughout all my training and work in this world of......have I ever seen Jiyun smile like this?

Seeing Jiyun's smile made me happy so I stroked her hair and said.

"Let's come play again next time?"

"Yes!!"

I was having so much fun as well.