My Daughters Have Regressed - Chapter 190



190 – A Child Who Loses Little by Little #2

190 – A child who loses little by little #2

Hina said in a low voice.

She said, “I want to have a snack ─.”

What is it?

It was a strange order, but I could only nod because I wanted to let Hina do whatever she wanted for the next two days.

“Good.”

However, Salome looked at her daughter Hina with incomprehensible eyes. She’s already been able to spend time with her family, so why not have a dinner party in the city?

It must be difficult to understand what Hina is thinking.

Anyway.

With that feeling, we headed to the city of Frisia.

As soon as Hina and Horohoro entered the city, they ran somewhere as if they had been waiting.

Wouldn’t you like to go to a toy store?

I heard they recently started selling things like magic wands that girls would like.

However, the place where Hina and Horohoro stopped was in an alley located in a remote part of the city. The road pavement was damaged and there was a lot of trash, probably due to lack of attention from public officials.

“Nothing has changed from before… !”

Hina was happy, raising her hands.

Soon, Horohoro also said, “It’s a backward place like the old days…” ” ” !” She said with joy.

Why did these children come here?

Squeak-!

At that time, a sharp sound was heard.

When she turned her head, Salome was stepping on the tail of a mouse that was crawling on her floor with her sharp shoes.

“It’s a back alley full of rats. Hina, it’s been a long time since you made the time, but was it good to come to a place like this? “If you walk around places like this, your new clothes will get dirty.”

“Clothes…”

Hina looked down at her own clothes.

The pink robe I bought a while ago was nice enough for an outing.

But Hina frowned, as if she didn’t like it.

“I remembered… Clothes… !”

Hina looked around her area and found a store.

It was like a general store located in this back alley, and in my opinion, having visited many stores, it seemed a bit on the ‘off-the-wall’ type of store.

It’s not like it’s located on the main street, but in an underdeveloped and secluded alley.

“Welcome.”

As we entered the store, a balding middle-aged man spoke half-heartedly without taking his eyes off the newspaper.

Inside the store, there were a lot of what looked like old, used items on display, and it was a place that could easily be called an all-purpose store or general store.

No, to be more precise, this is a type of store that buys and sells ‘stolen goods.’ It’s a place related to the underground thieves’ guild.

“It’s a shabby store. It also smells musty. “Places where unsold medicinal herbs are stored for a long time usually smell like this.”

Salome clicked her tongue.

That’s what she said, but Salome’s eyes were shining with anticipation, like an antique hunter who had taken over an old warehouse and was rubbing her palms together to find something worth making.

Sseukseu-.

At that time, she took off the pink robe that Hina was wearing.

Then she lifted her tiptoes and pushed the robe in front of the stand where the store owner was sitting.

Seuseuseuk-.

“… “I want to sell this.”

“… Huh? Does this just look like a new item? The outside was woven with Kabsir thread, and the inside was made of marten skin. It’s a good thing, but… “

Only then did the store owner look at Hina’s face. Then he held his breath as if he was slightly surprised.

Soon he opened his narrow eyes, opened her drawer, took out her glasses, and looked at Hina more closely.

5 seconds, 10 seconds.

A strange time passes─.

“… Pink hair. This is unusual in Frisia. The child I remember. You came here and sold robes a few winters ago, right? “The robes back then were better.”

“Yep… For 50,000 Ren…”

Hina sells something better than the robe she is currently wearing for only 50,000 Ren. When I purchased it, it must have been over 1 million.

The hedgerow with its bald head immediately looked at me and Salome, who were standing behind Hina.

He frowned as he recognized us, wondering if he was slow to receive news as a person living in the back alley world.

“You are Judas, and this is Queen Salome. What on earth do you want to do? Do you want to take revenge on me for buying clothes at a low price from this kid in the past?”

What do you want to do?

I don’t know either.

I also wanted to ask Hina.

However, Hina’s will she was firm.

“40,000 René!”

Hina seemed like she wanted to sell her pink dress she was wearing for 40,000 ren. Of course, Salome was so dumbfounded by this fact that she rolled her eyes.

“Hey! That’s a luxury product that I bought at No. 3 Luxury Street with me yesterday for 2 million Renais! What if I sell it for only 40,000 Ren? Even if it’s a used item, you can get 1.5 million if you’ve only worn it for a day! If you go to a place that is a little more suspicious, there are actually more than 2 million people…”

Salome, who was about to say something, closed her mouth.

If the coat was worn by a cute child like Hina, Salome would have known a place that would sell it for more than the original price of 2 million ren.

But she probably didn’t want to sell her daughter’s clothes to people because they were so suspicious.

There was no need to worry about that in the first place.

“40,000 René!”

Hina’s will to sell her clothes for 40,000 Ren was strong.

Hina was generally a quiet and passive child, but she was stubborn and never backed down from a decision.

Eventually, her shopkeeper took Hina’s pink robe and handed Hina her coin bag containing 30,000 ren.

Gugit.

Hina asked with her frown.

“… 40,000 René!”

“Okay. 40,000 Ren. But the price of this coin bag is 10,000 Renais. Wouldn’t it be difficult to walk around without putting coins worth 40,000 Ren in your pocket?”

It was the owner who asked bluntly.

It sounds like a very reasonable story, but it’s a complete rip-off.

The owner added:

“This isn’t just an ordinary coin bag. The skin of desert bulls is tough and difficult to use with a knife. No need to worry about being ripped off by pickpockets. It’s also very big.”

“Hmm…”

“You can’t even see what’s inside from the outside. It’s also great to wear on your head when it’s snowing or raining. How do you feel? “Isn’t this enough to be worth 10,000 Rennies?”

“Hey, the owner! There is no need to give such an expensive bag in the first place, just a sack worth 500 Renais—.”

Salome, perhaps unable to bear it while listening, frowned and took a step forward. I grabbed Salome’s shoulder and stopped her.

“Salome, wait a minute.”

“Why. Now Hina is being robbed right in front of her eyes!”

Parents would naturally protest against this situation. But what if Salome and I were here as ordinary thieves?

It was clear we didn’t say a word.

In the world of thieves, the basic rule was that ‘those who cheat are bad’.

There are some things that you only learn when you experience them yourself.

I also learned that from my thieving teacher.

And my master of thievery was Salome.

“Hina has now put her foot into her heartless and mean alley. “She seems to have something she wants to do, so let’s just watch.”

“…”

Salome looked like she wasn’t convinced, but in the end, she sighed, as if to say that no parent can beat their child.

# # #

We just watched what Hina was going to do.

Hina began to slowly count the amount of coins in her pocket, one by one, and she frowned as if something was wrong.

“… 28,000 René!”

It was like that.

The amount of coins in her pocket was 28,000 ren, not 30,000.

In response to Hina’s point to her, the store owner wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and placed the insufficient 2,000 Ren coins into Hina’s hand her.

“I guess I made a mistake in my calculations. I’ve never been to school, so I wasn’t used to counting. It wasn’t intentional.”

“Hmm!”

Hina snorted as if she was satisfied only then.

Indeed, if Hina had stayed still, she would have suffered a loss worth 2,000 René. When dealing with these back alley merchants, you always had to check whether the other person had returned the money well.

How do I know that?

I didn’t want to know either.

If she sits still, she gets hit in the back of the head and gets her nose cut.

Anyway.

Hina safely obtained 30,000 René.

When she thought she was going to leave the store like this, the store owner said.

“Little girl, even though it is summer, the nights in Phrygia are cold. If you walk around like that, you’re likely to catch a cold. “There are cheap outerwear nearby, so why not buy one?”

The summer nights are cold.

It was a ridiculous story.

But… , When she first visited the Hinagai store, it must have been the end of winter, when her spring she was still hiding her face her her her.

It must have been cold back then.

Hina stopped walking outside her store and slowly looked around this old stolen goods store.

Then she looked at where the old, tattered robe was hanging.

There were no price tags on any of the items.

“This!”

“That’s 500,000 René.”

“This… ?”

“That’s 330,000 Renais.”

The prices were all expensive.

Hina’s money of 30,000 Ren would not be enough to buy it.

Zek-.

Finally, Hina picked up a piece of rag that was tattered like a rag. It was a child’s robe that looked like it would tear when the wind blew.

“That’s 20,000 Ren.”

Even if given for free, a piece of rag that looks like it won’t be used costs 20,000 Renae.

I thought it was expensive, but Hina wore it as she liked it.

Now the rich girl who went for a walk with her mom and dad has disappeared, leaving behind only a scruffy child who would appear in the London slums of Oliver Twist.

Palak-.

The store owner opened the newspaper as if he was no longer interested in Hina.

As he was reading her newspaper with a solemn look on his face, Hina glanced around at her surroundings and headed to the grocery section where her dried beef jerky was hanging.

Hina looked at the store owner again.

The store owner seems to have lost interest in Hina and is still reading the newspaper.

Hina didn’t miss the opportunity and she gave away the beef jerky that was on display for 10,000 ren and stuffed it into her pocket.

The skill was quite good.

Palak-.

When she heard the sound of a newspaper being turned again, Hina trembled as if she was slightly surprised and started walking.

She acted as if nothing had happened.

Soon, Hina looked at the ‘tools’ shelf filled with lockpicks and small daggers.

After seeing the store owner’s notice again, Hina picked up her multi-purpose knife that looked good for a child’s hand and placed it neatly in her coin pocket.

The coin pocket was large and sturdy, so it was hard to tell what was inside from the outside, so even though I put a pocket knife in it, it looked fine.

Hina now moved her steps even further and secretly noticed something about her.

It was a black cloth flag hanging on the wall of the store, a sign that this place was affiliated with the underground ‘Shadow Council.’

Wajangchang-.

Soon Hina deliberately kicked the stall near her, causing it to collapse.

The store owner, who was reading the newspaper, frowned and swore, “You look like a damned brat!” And started picking up items that had fallen on the floor.

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Hina took advantage of the time he was tidying up the floor and quickly stuffed her black cloth into her pocket.

This whole process was quite skillful and quick.

It’s like repeating something you’ve already done once.

“… The price of the robe!”

Soon Hina took out a coin worth 20,000 ren from her pocket.

Then he handed it to the store owner and left the outside of the store.

“…”

Salome, who had been slightly angry earlier, watched this process in silence. The store owner now tidied up the store and sat at the counter slowly counting the coins he received from Hina.

“Nineteen thousand Rene. “A thousand Ren is not enough.”

Tsk, it was the store owner who clicked his tongue.

I reached into my pocket and took out the gold coin I could find.

And put it on the stand.

“I haven’t calculated it, but it’s probably around 10 million. This should be enough to pay for the items and flag that the kid stole just now, right? Did you know and pretend not to know?”

The flag that Hina stole was an expensive item.

It’s like a membership to the ‘Shadow Council.’

If you have that flag, you can do many things and have many rights.

Since it’s a black flag, the price would be around 10 million ren. Of course, it is not something that anyone can purchase just because they have money.

The bald owner clicked his tongue.

“It’s okay if it’s compensation. In the world of back alleys, it’s the fault of the one who was tricked. I was just fooled by the child’s cute appearance. That’s just the way it is.”

As he said that, the owner’s eyes were looking at the photo album on the stand.

In the photo album, a man who seemed to have had a lot of hair in his early days and a girl hugging him were smiling with a faded look.

The man said, looking at the photo album with longing eyes.

“It’s enough just to confirm that the child didn’t collapse in the cold winter. When she sees a child dying, she… I’m unlucky… Don’t go anywhere and spread rumors. “I hate kids.”

Well, if it becomes known that you are generous to children, it will become difficult to do business due to children flocking from all over.

Of course, I was a person who liked seeing other people go wrong.

He’s a villain who likes to see crying faces rather than smiling faces.

“You hate kids. There is a karma suitable for you. I would like to be punished by having to take care of my child for the rest of my life. Black Jack, for daring to deceive my daughter, you will be punished as a ‘father.’”

“What are you talking about? What punishment? “How did you know my name?”

Tuk-. Instead of answering, I lightly stamped my foot.

Then a small shadow broke away from my shadow and stood up.

The shadow was about the same size as Hina.

The owner frowned, perhaps because he felt uncomfortable, because a shadow, with his hair tied in two pigtails and his skirt fluttering, began to wander around the store.

“What are you doing now…”

He soon closed his mouth.

It was because the shadow rummaged through the shelves and manipulated a secret device.

Dalkak, giik.

Inside the drawer that opened with an old sound, there was something that looked like a doll or a letter belonging to a young girl.

“That secret shelf… Only me and Peach know… Surely you…”

The man slowly got up from his seat.

“No way, you… “You… “No way…” Picnic… ?”

The man stretched out his calloused hand and slowly embraced the shadow.

Sarak, Sarak-.

Then, as if paint was peeling off the black shadow, black things flew away and began to take on the color of human flesh.

The girl opened her mouth.

“Dad… Peach lost her way… I’m late coming home… Sorry…”

“Pitch… ! How is this…”

The bald store owner began to cry.

A grown man whose head is bald is crying like a child, even dripping with snot.

“I can’t see it.”

It was so ugly that Salome and I had no choice but to leave the store.