Chapter 39 Chapter 39: Fists Solve Problems Better Than Words
Chapter 39: Fists Solve Problems Better Than Words
Rewinding time to about a few minutes earlier, Kevin had just picked up the 'fantastical cuisine' he had prepared and was about to go find little Clara, who had been starving for most of the day.
Kevin admitted he probably didn't have much artistic talent, but at least his aesthetic sense was within the normal range. He knew himself that this dish didn't look very appealing... but the mansion really only had this many ingredients; there was no chance for him to start over and focus on presentation.
Besides, the ingredients themselves weren't much to look at either—it should be obvious. With the living conditions in the Underworld being what they are, how could one expect gourmet delicacies?
This sunless environment can't grow crops, let alone support large livestock. The only edible things are some fungi and small subterranean creatures.
As for supplies exchanged from the Overworld using geomarrow? The fact that they're willing to send down some white bread might already be considered a great kindness.
But aside from appearance, Kevin was quite confident in other aspects of his creation. Not only did it taste good, but more importantly, it achieved absolute nutritional balance, ensuring the child could grow up healthy and strong.
However, when Kevin walked out of the kitchen, he found Clara wasn't waiting in the living room as expected. Instead, she had somehow gone outside into the yard without him noticing earlier, as he had been fully focused on cooking.
When Kevin stepped out the door carrying the food, Clara—standing barefoot in the middle of the yard, head bowed as if deep in thought—immediately turned around at the sound. She ran back step by step, leaving footprints in the thin snow.
"Is the food ready? Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kevin."
Even though her stomach had been growling with hunger for a while, Clara's first reaction was still to bow slightly and express her gratitude.
But Kevin's attention was entirely focused on Clara's fair, tender feet that were clearly tinged with red from the cold. He asked, "This place isn't exactly warm. Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
Aside from aesthetics, clothing's main function is to protect body parts from harm to some extent. For children whose bodies aren't fully developed yet, it should be even more indispensable.
"Huh? Well... it's because for some reason, Clara easily twists her ankle whenever she wears shoes. No matter how much I try to adjust, I can't seem to fix it... so I just go like this..."
Running around barefoot all the time without any accidents—Svarog must have put considerable effort into this aspect.
But... is this really completely unrelated to malnutrition?
To be honest, Kevin remained highly skeptical about whether a robot could properly care for a child. He didn't believe a combat robot's database would include information about essential nutrients needed during human growth.
Before Kevin's thoughts could fully wander, Clara—whose stomach had long been empty—noticed the aroma and spotted the 'delicacy' in his hands. But when she saw what the dish actually looked like, she froze momentarily.
It wasn't that she thought there was anything wrong... it's just... it smelled so good, so why did it look like...
Noticing Clara's expression, Kevin was just wondering whether he should explain when he saw admiration suddenly appear on the girl's face: "Mr. Kevin is amazing! You can actually make food that smells this good!"
As she said this, Clara rubbed her little stomach and explained: "Actually, Mr. Svarog doesn't know how to cook either. The Underworld doesn't have very good ingredients. Clara usually just eats things like bread, and that's already quite good."
"......" Kevin fell silent again.
Perhaps he had been presumptuous again. What looked like poorly presented food to him might simply be similar to what Clara ate most of the time in her eyes.
When dealing with adults, Kevin could constantly remind himself that they must choose their own paths... but what about these children? Do they really have a choice?
Creak—creak—
Coincidentally at that moment, Kevin suddenly clearly heard some strange sounds coming from directly above. Actually, his keen senses had already detected this earlier, but he had thought it was just some old, poorly maintained mechanical device.
But as the sound grew closer and closer, it was clearly something gradually approaching the ground, right?
When Kevin instinctively looked up, he immediately saw the cable car slowly approaching the Underworld. His gaze gradually met that of a certain young woman who was also looking down. He personally witnessed her expression transform from contemplation to anger.
Wait... that child over there... why does she look so familiar?
Just as Kevin suddenly felt some suspicion about a certain pink-haired head in the cable car, the young woman who had first made eye contact with him impulsively jumped down from the cable car. While still mid-air, she already drew her longbow and fired an arrow fiercely at him, shouting loudly:
"You beast! How could you lay hands on such an adorable little girl?! Let her go right now!!!"
An arrow completely condensed from frost shot forward at extremely high speed. If this hit directly, all this hard-prepared food would go to waste.
"Mr. Kevin... Wahhh——!"
Naturally, Clara couldn't react to this sudden turn of events either. She had just wanted to warn him to be careful when she was immediately frightened by the speeding arrow and instinctively hid in Kevin's arms.
After waiting a moment and hearing no sounds, Clara cautiously raised her head, only to be surprised to find that seemingly terrifying arrow easily caught by Kevin with one hand gripping its shaft.
"Get behind me, Clara."
Although he had easily blocked the attack, Kevin didn't underestimate his opponent at all because of it.
This arrow's appearance and properties seemed completely like ice crystals, but Kevin could sense that this wasn't the same frost he was familiar with at all.
So these people... were they sent by that 'Supreme Guardian' to deal with him?
"Surrender now! You!"
The young woman who had jumped from over ten meters high landed steadily on the ground, then pointed at Kevin with one hand on her hip: "The 'Supreme Guardian' has already told us everything! I advise you to immediately release that girl and surrender with your hands up! Then tell us where the Stellaron is!"
"......"
Well, just from this statement alone, Kevin could tell at a glance that this child had probably believed some distorted version of events and thus considered him an enemy.
Unfortunately, he wasn't good at explanations, nor did he think this stranger would simply believe his words.
Compared to wasting breath explaining things, it seemed making them incapable of refuting would be the most convenient answer.
[There is an illustration here; it can be viewed after updating to the latest version.]
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