Luke ignored her and asked Kahina instead, "How's Moff been lately?"
Kahina smiled. "Moff's changed a lot since last time. Now he's basically our little grown-up. A lot of the time, the kids would rather listen to him than to us."
She truly had to admire Luke for it. When Moff first arrived, he'd already been withdrawn for a long time, and no matter what they tried, they couldn't find a way to untie the knot in the child's heart.
Luke had solved it just like that.
Now Moff was much more open, much brighter.
"Yeah?" Luke chuckled. Looks like that kid was working hard to complete his "mission."
"He's genuinely saved us a lot of trouble. Thank goodness for him," Kahina said with feeling. Taking care of a whole group of children was exhausting beyond words.
But after Moff showed up, it was like a flock suddenly got a lead sheep—everything stopped spiraling.
With him guiding them, the kids were actually pretty well-behaved.
Lux glanced over at the children playing. "It looks like there are even more kids now."
"Yeah." Kahina nodded, then sighed. "Lately, a few children get brought in every day. We can't find families willing to take them in right away, so they're staying at the Temple of the Lightbringers for now."
At least thirty kids—every one of them without parents. It was heartbreaking to see.
But if no one was willing to adopt them, then no matter how much your heart ached, it didn't change anything.
Kahina's gaze landed on Moff among the children, and she smiled softly. "The kids who get brought in usually cry terribly at first. That's when Moff goes over to comfort them and talk them through it. He can do things even we adults can't. One day, he's going to be someone incredible."
"Jealous?" Luke said, suddenly smug. "I've already recruited him. In the future, he'll only work for me."
Lux shot him a look. "I'm not even going to bother."
The three of them fell quiet, watching the children play.
Luke kept an eye on Moff in particular. Moff's face was full of laughter, just like any kid his age should have. Maybe this was what he was supposed to look like.
But for some reason, Kahina's words still left Luke with a trace of worry he couldn't fully shake.
They called Moff a "little grown-up" here.
But for a seven-year-old, growing up that early… was it really a good thing?
They stayed at the Temple of the Lightbringers for a while. Before leaving, Luke called Moff over again.
"We're heading out for today. I'll come see you again in a few days."
He reached out and ruffled Moff's hair.
"Okay." Moff smiled happily, then asked, "How many days is 'a few'?"
Luke thought for a moment. "Three days."
"Then it's a promise!" Moff's face instantly turned serious. "You can't lie."
"Don't worry. If I said three days, then it'll be three days," Luke promised just as seriously.
After saying goodbye, he and Lux left the Temple of the Lightbringers first.
Walking through the streets, they focused on picking ingredients for making ice cream. Since they were spending Miss Crownguard's money, Luke naturally wasn't going to feel any pain at all.
And Lux—being luxuriously bold—declared that as long as it tasted good, money wasn't a problem!
Which made Luke even more fearless about spending.
By the time Lux was carrying bag after bag, she finally remembered something. "Wait… is this really fine?"
Before spending all this money, she seemed to have forgotten to actually test Luke's skills.
Now they'd bought so much stuff—if it turned out awful when they got back, wouldn't she be losing big?
She'd been lured by the promise of food at first, but now that her head had cleared, she was suddenly not so sure.
"Relax. I won't let your trust go to waste," Luke said, practically ready to pound his chest in assurance.
In the end, Lux reluctantly believed him.
Meanwhile, back at the Temple of the Lightbringers, with Moff as the leader, the kids started a new game.
"Next up, hide-and-seek! Nobody leaves the temple grounds. Rock-paper-scissors to pick two seekers!"
Once the rules were set, the kids immediately started playing rock-paper-scissors.
Two seekers were chosen, and all the other kids scattered in a rush, sprinting in every direction to find the best hiding spots.
And Moff—when it came to hide-and-seek, he had experience.
From the times he'd played before, he'd found a spot that absolutely wouldn't be discovered.
He was holding the hand of a brown-haired little girl named Moxi. She was two years younger than him, and just like him, she'd been abandoned by her parents.
When she first arrived at the temple, she didn't cry or make a fuss, and it made Moff feel like he was looking at his past self.
"Come on—careful. Up here," Moff whispered.
He led her to the hiding spot: a recessed hollow in the wall above a large flower pot. Only a child's small frame could squeeze into it.
Once Moff and Moxi were tucked in, the two kids stayed perfectly still, not even daring to breathe too loudly.
Then they heard footsteps.
Moff raised a finger to signal Moxi to be quiet.
Moxi immediately nodded her little head.
At first, Moff thought it was the seekers coming for them, but it sounded more like adults from the temple.
"Ugh… lately there've been more and more kids getting brought in," one voice said.
Another replied, "I heard in the next few days, even more will be sent here."
"Can we even take care of them all? What's going on this year? Why are there so many abandoned kids?"
"Who knows… and that's only one problem." The second voice lowered, heavy with worry. "The funds Lord Barrett allocated not long ago are almost gone. But now there are so many mouths waiting to be fed."
"If it really comes to it… we'll have to give up on some of them."
"Yeah. Our capabilities are limited, too…"
Both voices were soaked in a hopeless, endless exhaustion.
And Moff understood—what had them so troubled was him, and the other children.
They were going to give up on some of them.
But what did "give up" mean?
His fingers and toes suddenly felt cold. Without meaning to, a line flashed through his mind:
"This is the adult world. You're a burden. You're dragging them down."
Beside him, Moxi tugged at Moff's cape, shrinking into herself as she whispered, "Are we going to get thrown away again?"
Moff snapped back to himself and forced a smile. "No."
He knew this place wasn't like the family he'd been with before. The adults here were kind. They would never throw them away.
"I'm scared," Moxi said, lowering her head as bad memories surged back up.
Moff reached out and tightly held the trembling little girl's hand. His voice was firm. "Don't be scared. I'll find a way. I promise."
"Mm." Moxi gave him a naive, innocent smile.
Looking at that smile—
In that moment, seven-year-old Moff finally understood what responsibility meant. He wanted to protect Moxi, and children like her.
I'm not a burden.
We just can't be burdens—that's all.
Moff repeated it to himself over and over. He knew what the word meant, so… all he had to do was get rid of those two characters, right?
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