“What did you do to him?”

A customer came to the cafe that was so empty where only flies were flying. If there was any problem, it was because this guest was an uninvited guest…?

April sighed as she saw the woman screaming in front of her cafe. The next moment, the woman opened an axe-eye to her.

“Are you sighing now when this child is sick like this?”

Behind the woman stood Asher with a look of helplessness on his face. So, it seems that the little boy was the cause of the commotion in the morning.

Since having their first meal with Asher a week ago, April has been eating with the child every day.  At first, the child, who was told to come again tomorrow, hesitated again, saying that he had no money. However, at her words, ‘You can bring me flowers to put in the store,’ he picked up a bunch of flowers the next day.

Thanks to that, April’s small cafe was filled with the scent of fresh flowers every day.

And, a week passed like that. Even this morning, April was always preparing breakfast to eat with Asher until she heard shouts from outside.

“So, you’re saying that Asher got a stomach ache after eating my food?”

April calmly summarized the woman’s words.

“Yes! Did you feed this child without my permission, who’s his guardian? That alone is ridiculous, but he ate your food and got a stomach ache! How did you even manage your ingredients?”

April, who listened silently, clicked her tongue at the absurdity of her words.

‘…What, guardian? I gave him food without her permission?’

Over the past week, she has heard enough of Asher’s story.

At first, the child, who ate only food without saying a word, gradually opened his heart, and he began to share his stories with her one by one. Asher was raised by his aunt after his mother died of a rampant disease when he was two years old. Because of that, his aunt was the only blood family the child had since he did not know who his father was.

It was not that Asher was abused by his aunt. However, the child was completely neglected.

As she left the house early in the morning and came back later at night, she would always tell the child to take care of his own meals. Naturally, Asher, now only five years old, could not afford to eat properly on his own.

He was lucky enough to eat bread and cheese if he had it, though if not, he would starve. Of course, he could not make any warm dishes using fire. Consequently, it was only natural that a child who was supposed to gain plump flesh would be so thin that only bones remained.

Besides, it was not just that.

The clothes the child was wearing were too small compared to his physique. In contrast to him, the woman was wearing clean new clothes. April expected it as well when she heard from Asher, but when she saw it for herself, it was certain…

‘…No matter how you look at it, she seems to have treated Asher as nothing but a nuisance.’

Would she even care that Asher was sick? Perhaps not. If he said that he was sick, she might just get annoyed and leave the child unattended.

Then, why was she taking the time to throw false allegations towards her like this? Moreover, contrary to the woman’s words, Asher had no pain on his face at all. Rather, his face, which has added more weight slightly over the past week, looked healthy to anyone who saw it.

There was only one reason April could infer why Asher’s aunt acted like that.

‘…She must have the intention of extorting compensation from me.’

It was not until a week later that she knew April had been giving Asher meals, so now she comes and acts like a guardian.

She tried to be nice, but April could not bring herself to do that. Still, she knew that there was nothing good about being angry with Asher’s aunt—both for Asher’s sake and herself. The anger soared to her head, although April answered calmly for once.

“There’s nothing wrong with the food. I use fresh ingredients every day.”

This was something she was definitely proud of. In order to keep it fresh, she spent a lot of money to buy a refrigerator with insulated magic.

“Besides, I, who ate with Asher, am fine.”

However, the woman was not at all convinced. Rather, she began to argue more brazenly.

“Are adults and children the same? He has an upset stomach.”

Of course, children’s stomachs were weak compared to adults. Nevertheless…

“Asher looks fine, too.”

“Can’t you see that his face has turned white?”

“Asher’s face was originally pale. It’s because his face was always covered in dirt, and he couldn’t wash it properly.”

“Anyway, I’ve to take him to the clinic, so you’ll have to compensate me back! You know we don’t have a legislator in our town, right? I’ve to go to the next town, so give me the cost of carriage and medicine, as well as my salary because I can’t go to work today!”

In the end, the expected conclusion was revealed.

April reflexively tried to say something, but when Asher and her eyes met, she bit her mouth.

It was because the boy standing behind his aunt kept muttering ‘I’m sorry’ with his mouth. He then bowed his head as he clasped his little hands and fiddled with his fingers.