Side Story 8

In the end, I surrendered and cleared out every single fairy tale book in our house.

As a result, what Davi and Chloe were holding now were books titled “Classical Economics Made Easy” and “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions”.

Neither of them was something a thirteen year old should be reading, but what made it even more absurd was that the selection clearly showed Luca had carefully chosen them.

There was no way Chloe and Davi had picked those books themselves. If they had, they wouldn’t be stealing glances at Luca to check his reaction like they were now.

I’d even bribed him beforehand, worried he might pressure the kids like this…

He’d eaten an entire Sachertorte by himself and then betrayed me like this.

He clearly never intended to play along with kids in the first place. Clenching my teeth, I forced a smile so the kids wouldn’t feel threatened and spoke.

“Luca, I told you to take good care of the kids…”

“I am taking good care of them.”

How on earth was this taking good care of them?

I stared straight at Luca with narrowed eyes.

But shameless Luca, who felt not even a shred of guilt, just shrugged casually.

“They’re reading. Reading feeds the soul.”

“Feeds the soul my foot. The book choices are wrong to begin with, Luca. Who gives kids economics and science books?”

“They were enjoying them.”

“Oh yeah? Then why is Davi holding his book upside down right now?”

The moment I said that, Davi flinched and hurriedly turned the book the right way up.

Luca glanced sideways at Davi and clicked his tongue. Timid Davi visibly hunched his shoulders.

Noticing I was unusually persistent, Luca raised the white flag more easily than expected.

He shut the thick book he was reading with a thump and asked with a sigh.

“So what do you want me to do? Play house with them? Or hide and seek?”

This wouldn’t do. I usually believed adults shouldn’t interfere with kids playing, but Luca was supposed to lead, and his complete lack of motivation was a problem.

Steeling my resolve, I said firmly.

“Grab a glove and a ball, Luca. Let’s play catch for once.”

“Ugh.”

“What do you mean ugh? Hurry up and move.”

At my urging, Luca dragged his feet.

Seriously, who did he take after to hate moving this much?

And yet, he was perfectly fine with sword training and horseback riding. Clearly, he only became lethargic when it came to things he deemed useless.

‘It’s not like he’s dropping subjects just because they don’t affect his grades.’

Chloe and Davi, who didn’t even know what playing catch was, darted their eyes around nervously.

I pushed the kids outside anyway.

Watching their small backs huddle together as they trotted out, I let out a quiet sigh.

* * *

“You throw and catch the ball like this. Got it?”

“Uh… yes.”

When I demonstrated with Luca, Davi answered awkwardly as he watched.

He looked completely baffled, unable to understand what was fun about tossing a ball back and forth.

Had he never played with a ball before?

I could understand Chloe, given her weak health, but Davi surprised me.

“It’s more fun than you think. Hmm… you’ve thrown things before, right?”

“Yes. I threw stones a lot.”

“…”

Why would a kid who never played ball throw stones instead?

Unwilling to dig deeper into the harsh reality of slum life, I changed the subject.

“Alright, try it with Luca.”

Luca, wearing a glove on one hand, faced Davi. Letting out a small breath, he raised the hand holding the ball as if indulging us.

Probably because he’d played catch often with Ruediger and me, Luca’s throwing form was very stable.

The ball sliced cleanly through the air and landed neatly in Davi’s glove. Davi stared blankly, rolling his eyes as if confused that the ball was suddenly in his hand.

“Throw it back to Luca like he did!”

I mimed the motion and called out. Startled by my urging, Davi threw the ball.

His form, imitating Luca, was strange. His hips stuck out, and his long arm flailed awkwardly in the air.

But despite the funny posture, the ball had decent speed.

It landed a bit away from Luca, who quickly stretched out his hand and snagged it.

I made a big fuss as I praised Davi.

“For your first time, that was amazing!”

“But it went too far, didn’t it…”

“No, Luca just had to stretch his arm a little. Doing that well on your first try isn’t easy at all. You did great. You’ve got talent.”

No one dislikes praise. As Davi fiddled with the edge of his glove, the tips of his ears turned slightly red.

Apparently displeased with how much I was praising Davi, Luca muttered sulkily.

“I think I threw better my first time.”

“What are you talking about? Your throw was totally wobbly. Who was it that slammed the ball straight into the ground because they had no strength?”

“No, I threw it really well. Maybe you just don’t remember since it was three years ago.”

Luca’s brazen face as he played dumb was impressive.

Where did he learn to sell snake oil like that? His lying skills were top tier.

Gambling, pickpocketing, scamming… Luca showed remarkable talent in all kinds of crimes. As his guardian, I couldn’t help but be deeply concerned.

“And you were much younger back then. You can’t compare that to Davi now.”

“You’re the one comparing. And Davi’s young too, you know.”

He wanted to be treated like an adult most of the time, but then acted like a kid when it suited him. Talk about selective behavior.

Tired of the back and forth, I clapped lightly to shift the mood.

“Alright then, Luca, who supposedly threw perfectly from the start. Show us again!”

“Don’t be sarcastic.”

Luca puffed out his lips slightly and raised his arm with the ball. The ball flew back and forth again. Davi threw it with a bit more confidence this time.

At first, both of them had tense expressions. Davi focused hard, afraid of making a mistake, while Luca clearly showed he’d been dragged out unwillingly.

But as the ball kept going back and forth, the furrows between their brows smoothed out, and smiles spread across their faces.

Anyone could tell they were having fun.

Watching them, Chloe grew restless and cautiously asked me.

“Um… can’t I do it?”

“Of course you can. You’ve gotten much healthier too. Alright, want to try? Just throwing is fine.”

Seeing Chloe actively want to join, I answered quickly.

A fleeting worry crossed my mind that she might overdo it and collapse. She was still recuperating, even if she’d passed the worst stage.

‘But she looks fine right now… I’ll keep an eye on her and stop her if she looks tired.’

She might even get healthier if she found exercise enjoyable.

Thinking positively, I handed Chloe a glove.

“Chloe, you’ll play with me. Hold the ball like this…”

I explained again, just as I had with Davi. Chloe nodded with a determined expression as she listened.

Chloe gripped the ball.

I paid close attention to her every move, ready to shower her with praise even if she just threw the ball at the ground.

But then, what was this?

Chloe threw surprisingly well. No, better than that. She threw really well.

Her form was good. She wobbled a bit due to lack of strength, but her balance was solid. She shifted her weight exactly as I’d taught her.

Could it be… was Chloe a genius?

I saw the potential of a future softball ace in Chloe. Forgetting all about worrying for her health, I blurted out excitedly.

“Chloe, want to throw just one more time?”

“Yes!”

“Great! Then maybe… can you try aiming for my glove? You don’t have to get it exactly in, just somewhere around here!”

“Um, just a moment?”

Chloe’s ball landed right inside my glove. Emotion surged through me like a wave. My voice trembled as I spoke, overwhelmed.

“Chloe, you’re definitely a genius. You’ve got talent. Really. The kind you see once every hundred years!”

Maybe once every hundred years was an exaggeration, but who cared? There hadn’t even been a single softball match in this world yet.

The joy of finding a player worth betting my life on as a coach made me overreact.

For a moment, I worried Davi might look dejected after seeing praise he couldn’t compare to.

But that worry was unfounded.

“Wow, you threw it right into the glove? That’s amazing. I can’t do that no matter how many times I try.”

“You probably could if you practiced. I was really bad at first too, but I’m okay now.”

Wait, who was it that insisted earlier they were good from the start?

Feeling my gaze, Luca flinched and looked away.

Normally, I would’ve seized the chance to get back at him, but now wasn’t the time.

I stared at Chloe with eyes burning with passion. The embers of my interest in softball, barely kept alive until now, burst into full flame.