"I heard someone new moved into the detached house recently?"

It's just a kid staying there.

"Isn't it uncomfortable living together? That house was your private space."

"No wonder you've been walking toward the market every morning lately. Was it to take care of mealtime?"

If I leave her alone, she just rolls around without eating breakfast. Get back to your swords.

The guys chuckled. He didn't want annoying rumors spreading, but he had already reported everything to his superior. There was no need to make up grand excuses. To others, she could just be seen as someone he ended up having to look after.

On the way back to the detached house after training, his mother pushed a small lunch box toward him.

"Did she not come out of her room today either? I packed mostly greens so they're easy to eat, so please take this to her."

It was a bleak room that used to hold nothing but a straw mat, a few teacups, and a discarded sword belt. Now, a few small pieces of clothing, the girl's hair comb, and a small wooden ring sat in the corner.

The fact that traces of another person were increasing without him knowing certainly twisted his daily life little by little. Checking her meals every morning, learning how to comb hair anew, and such things. If he said it wasn't uncomfortable, or that those tasks were purely easy, it would be a lie.

The girl, who was sitting near the veranda, was struggling to gather her disheveled hair with only her left hand. Strands of hair that slipped through her fingers kept falling below her shoulders.

He set the lunch box down and approached from behind her. With his rough hands, he gathered the fallen tresses into one, took the ribbon from her, and tied it firmly.