92 – Qualification-5
“It’s a man!!!”
As soon as we went inside, a child screamed and ran into the nursery.
“Sorry…”
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“No. It seems strange.”
If you were still a child, you wouldn’t have had a chance to see an adult man.
“It’s okay. Clean, spacious…”
It didn’t seem far from the city, but it had a fairly large yard.
“Doctor! Come out quickly. You really, really came!”
“Lily, this is already the third time. Dragon, a turtle the size of a house… What if I told you that a very man appeared now?”
“Because I saw it with my own eyes!”
“It’s bad to lie. No matter how much you want to play with the teacher, it’s true, such absurd things…”
The child who entered the building quickly grabbed the elderly director and came out.
“…Huh?”
The director was surprised to see me and dropped the broom he was holding.
The child, either scared or ashamed, hid behind the director’s legs and pouted out his face.
“Excuse me. I-I contacted you…”
“Ji, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here… I didn’t even clean it!”
“It’s okay. Wait, can I go inside?”
“Of course… It is. Dana? How…”
“I don’t know either.”
Dana, too, was ashamed, as he lowered his head and didn’t know what to do.
Inside the building, it was surprisingly clean.
When I looked with my eyes wide open, I could see traces of children, but they seemed to be well taken care of.
“Gee, it’s real!”
“Then the dragon Lily saw before was also real?”
“Ah, that can’t be true!”
“Then, um, does that seem true?”
“…Is that so?”
The children were gathering in groups of threes and threes to greet me.
“Welcome!”
Among them, one brave and courageous child pouted out and bowed his head respectfully.
“Oh, yes. Hi. Do you like sweets?”
“Yes!”
“I think I should put this… On the table first. I’ve prepared a present for you.”
The child hurriedly nodded her head, perhaps sensing the appetizing smell flowing through the cloth.
“Are you going to eat here?”
“Sure. Let’s go together. Ah… It’s okay, right?”
I slightly turned my head and looked at where the director was.
Come to think of it, there was a problem in its own way if you stopped eating after feeding the children for no reason.
“Of course. I’ll guide you.”
Following the director, Dana and her many children gathered together in the restaurant.
“Oh, Dana. How did you meet such a handsome and kind person?”
“Such, such a thing…”
“You have to hold on tight. Is it hard to find someone like that?”
“I know better…”
When I unwrapped the wrapping cloth, the children rushed at me with happy faces.
Even though I may be a bit difficult to deal with, the bread and snacks in front of me seemed to be an attractive presence.
“Guys, thank you to Evan.” And eat!”
“Thank you!!!”
With a booming voice, the children each took out the snack they wanted to eat.
“This one has fruit jam inside!”
“The bread… Ummm, it’s so delicious. It’s like swallowing a cloud.”
I’m glad you seem to like it. It looked somewhat disorderly, but the children calmly picked up the bread and sat down to eat it.
“…Why do you do this?”
Dana lowered her head. He whispered in my ear in a voice so small that the other children could not hear.
“Why is this?”
Dana looked at me as I spoke casually with complicated eyes.
“Wait, let’s talk.”
“I’m always welcome.”
Actually, I was thinking of stepping aside.
There were a lot of children who showed interest in me, but most of them were just frozen and watching me.
It didn’t seem like he was ignoring me because he didn’t like me or because he was interested in bread, he just seemed like he didn’t know how to treat me normally.
It’s me, seeing the children cutely munching on bread made me feel healed.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Dana seemed familiar with this place, and she skillfully found a deserted place.
“So, why?”
/////
Seeing him smiling casually, Dana’s heart seemed to be torn apart.
She distanced herself from him, but rather, Evan sympathizes with her ‘charity work’.
It wasn’t that I hated children. The children at the orphanage have always been precious people, and she was proud of them too.
But in front of Evan, I couldn’t bear it.
“…To Daisy. Have you heard?”
“Maybe I should have asked you directly. Sorry.”
The reason why she couldn’t accept Evan’s first offer, the reason why she couldn’t fully give herself to Evan.
It was because of the people here.
“…Why do you keep trying to match me? Here too… You wouldn’t want to come.”
“That’s not it. Kids, aren’t they cute? Watching them makes me happy.”
However, Dana couldn’t believe Evan’s words.
If it hadn’t been for her, she wouldn’t have known where this nursery was.
Evan came to this orphanage just because Dana loves these children.
“…You don’t have to lie.”
You have to admit it. Dana is in love with Evan.
While not prepared to give her all, she couldn’t trick him into taking out the honeydew like she does now.
“Because of me, you’re always losing money, and I haven’t done anything for you… You’re always trying to adjust to me.”
“That’s not it. Didn’t you buy the clothes I’m wearing right now?”
“That’s because you only wear weird clothes…”
Evan’s fashion sense was not very good. He was evasive by saying, ‘It’s different from my world…’, But from Dana’s point of view, he just wasn’t interested in clothes.
We went into her clothing store together, and she picked out the clothes for us. Ordinary clothes that are too rough and rugged for men to wear.
It would have been expensive and luxurious enough for an ordinary person, but it was an extremely embarrassing item to say that it was a gift for a male lover.
“You… Adapting to me, no matter how much I think about it, it seems like it only harms you. So, so…”
It seemed that she was overestimating herself too much to tell her to break up with her.
Perhaps, Evan may not even be aware. Because of the kindness he extended to everyone and the warm smile that permeated his body, it seemed like he was pretending to be his lover.
“…Really?”
He looked a little taken aback, but he didn’t lose his smile and panic. Rather, he embarrassed Dana with simple words.
“But, I’m good. If you end up hating me, then I really can’t help it…”
“That’s not it!”
Dana vehemently denied his words.
“Okay. You talking to me, hugging me, being with me. It was all a happy thing!”
“Then it doesn’t matter?”
With her relaxed smile, Evan comforted her. However, even at this moment when his hand was on her shoulder, Dana did not find her peace of mind.
“But, you’re only losing money! Even now, if it weren’t for me, it would probably be in the imperial palace…”
“Aha. It must have been Iris.”
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As if Evan had just realized it, she slowly nodded her head.
“Well, it’s not wrong. Even if it’s not Iris… I’ve seen how the men of Selam live.”
“…”
“I could have made more ‘profit’ if I sold my interest to money, considering how much money women saved.”
Now, I realized. Evan took Dana’s words seriously.
“Even as a gladiator… It’s the same. I’m in a slump. I won’t be able to fight like I am now, and it won’t help you. Another champion will come up, and then…”
Dana said what she had to say, her clouding eyes tightly shut.
“I won’t help.”
“But, my life… Doesn’t exist to make money. You, too, don’t live ‘to get men’s attention’.”
At Evan’s words, Dana carefully opened her eyes.
“… Huh?”
“If it’s to make as much money as possible with minimal interest… Of course, Dana, you’re probably an inefficient person. But, you’re not the person I love.”
Dana’s head froze.
“In the first place, if that’s what you were thinking, then you just have to enjoy the present moment. Why are you telling me that?”
“That’s because… I’m using you. Because of me, you’re only losing money.”
“That’s my situation. Why don’t you, Dana, make an efficient choice to live your life receiving my attention and love?”
Only then, Dana was able to vomit her heart out.
“It’s okay…Because.”
Her tightly closed eyes may have blocked the light pouring in from outside, but they could not block the tears flowing from within.
“Yes. Because I love you, I can make choices that have nothing to do with money or fame… Even if it’s inefficient, I think the other person is as precious as I am.
Dana finally wiped away her tears and looked at Evan in front of her eyes.
“By the way, shouldn’t I do that?”
Evan’s unwavering eyes were deeply embedded in Dana’s heart.
“But, I’m not qualified for that… All I did was…”
“You saved my life.”
“That could have been done by anyone other than me. Just, just lucky!”
“I was lucky too. Because you were there, I was able to get help, and most of all, I was able to meet you.”
Every word was filled with so much love that it made Dana stumble.
He continued to stand there. He never strayed away from her, he was the same as the first time he saw him,