The little girl sat quietly on the swing.

The playground around her was empty. Only the creaking sound of the swing could be heard amidst the distant traffic.

Reiji frowned. "What is this little girl doing out here at this hour?" He muttered to himself.

The girl looked to be at least eight or nine and she didn’t seem scared. Nor did she seem lost.

She simply sat there swinging back and forth while staring at the night sky.

Reiji hesitated.

Part of him wanted to ignore her and leave.

The other part couldn’t help but feel concerned. After all, no matter how safe the city was now, leaving a child alone this late at night felt strange.

Reiji took another bite of his crepe, then another. Eventually he let out a sigh. "Damn it..."

And slowly walked toward the playground.

Reiji sat on the bench next to the swing and continued eating his crepe.

The girl raised her head and saw a man sitting on the bench next to her leisurely eating a crepe.

"What are you doing here by this time? All by yourself?" Reiji asked, pretending to be unbothered.

The girl didn’t reply at first. She just stared at Reiji, who was staring at her from the corner of his eye while waiting for her response.

Her almond eyes scanned Reiji’s face. Though he looked unbothered, from his eyes she could tell he was concerned.

The tension in her eyes disappeared as her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Seeing her continue staring at him without saying anything, Reiji frowned.

’Why is she looking at me like that?’

Then his gaze slowly drifted toward the crepe in his hand.

A look of realization appeared on his face.

’No way...’

Without hesitation, Reiji pulled his jacket over the crepe and shielded it protectively.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the little girl.

The little girl blinked.

Reiji immediately took another bite.

"Mmph."

Then another.

The little girl continued staring with genuine curiosity.

Reiji held the crepe even tighter.

For some reason, he suddenly felt like a mother hen protecting her chicks from a predator.

"Onii-san?"

Reiji gave a casual hum, his mouth filled with crepe, one eyebrow raised.

"You didn’t disappear...?"

"Hmm?"

"Nina’s dad disappeared along with Nina’s younger brother and friends."

Reiji looked lost for half a second before realizing what she meant, but he wasn’t scared.

After all, she was just a little child.

Even if she told anyone she had met a man, they would assume it was just her imagination.

Kids say the darndest things after all.

So Reiji casually replied. "Because Onii-san is special..."

The little girl just stared at Reiji and the silence made him feel uncomfortable, making him seem like a fool.

So he quickly changed the subject. "So where’s your mom?"

The little girl lowered her head again. "Mom doesn’t care about Nina anymore."

Reiji’s expression softened slightly.

Children usually didn’t say things like that without a reason.

He had seen enough videos online these past few weeks to know that many families were still struggling after the disappearance.

Some had lost fathers, some had lost brothers, some had lost sons, and some simply didn’t know how to move on.

"What makes you say that, Nina?"

"Mom doesn’t spend time with Nina and often goes over to the beautiful neighbor lady and play with her." Nina spoke with innocence.

’By playing she means...’ Reiji coughed lightly, breaking the awkward silence.

He stood, walked over to the little girl and patted her on the head.

"I’m sure you’re just overthinking things, little Nina."

"I’m not. Even when Nina’s dad was here he always spent time in that beautiful neighbor lady’s house." The girl said with a little pout.

Reiji was speechless. His filthy brain started picturing all sorts of scenarios.

He shook his head, brushing off the thought, and decided to cheer the little one up.

"Hey, Nina right?"

Nina raised her head up and nodded slightly.

"Do you want to see something cool?" Reiji said with a small smile.

Nina blinked.

Something cool?

The little girl’s curiosity was immediately piqued.

"What is it?"

Reiji glanced around. The playground was empty. The nearby road was quiet.

There weren’t many people around at this hour.

"Come here."

Nina hesitated for a moment before walking over.

Reiji crouched down slightly.

"Hold on tight."

"Huh?"

Before she could react...

WHOOSH!

The ground exploded beneath them.

Nina’s eyes widened.

The playground rapidly shrank below them.

The trees, the roads, even the nearby buildings.

Everything became smaller and smaller.

"W-WAHHHHHH!!"

Nina clung tightly to Reiji’s jacket in panic.

The night wind rushed past them.

Reiji laughed lightly.

"Don’t look down then."

"I-I’m already looking down!"

Nina yelled as she closed her eyes tightly, burying her face in his chest.

For a few seconds they continued rising.

Then their speed gradually slowed.

The city stretched beneath them like a sea of lights.

Countless windows glowed in the darkness.

Cars moved along distant roads like tiny streams of light.

Nina slowly opened her eyes.

Then she looked down and her mouth slowly opened.

"Pretty..."

The fear in her eyes gradually disappeared.

Reiji looked down at her and smiled.

"See?"

Nina nodded repeatedly.

"It really is pretty."

The little girl stared at the city below with sparkling eyes.

For the first time since Reiji had met her, the sadness on her face had completely disappeared.

Then Reiji raised one hand.

A small amber flame appeared above his palm.

Nina tilted her head.

"What is that?"

"Fire."

"Huh?"

She already knew what fire was, but this seemed different.

Reiji grinned.

Then he flicked the flame upward.

WHOOSH!

The amber flame shot into the sky.

It soared higher and higher then...

BOOOOOM!

The amber flame exploded.

Countless tiny golden sparks spread across the night sky.

The sparks shimmered like stars before slowly fading away.

Nina’s eyes widened.

"Woah..."

BOOM!

Another amber firework bloomed overhead.

Then another.

And another.

The golden sparks illuminated the sky like a field of stars.

Nina forgot everything else. She forgot about being lonely, she forgot about being sad, she forgot about her mother and she forgot about the pretty neighbor lady stealing her parents’ attention.

The only thing reflected in her eyes was the beautiful display above her.

"Again!"

She pointed excitedly.

"Again!"

Reiji chuckled. "You sure are demanding."

Even so, he created another Soul Torture Flame.

BOOM!

The fireworks exploded across the sky once more.

Nina laughed.

A bright carefree laugh.

The kind only children could make.

Reiji watched her for a moment.

Then a faint smile appeared on his face.

Maybe tonight’s walk hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

***

Reiji used Mana Manipulation and slowly brought himself down with Nina in his embrace.

Nina was sleeping peacefully in his arms.

She had fallen asleep during the private fireworks show.

Staring at the little girl’s face, Reiji couldn’t help remembering his two little sisters.

He really wanted to see them.

But he decided that now wasn’t the time.

His eyes suddenly narrowed as he heard the sounds of police cars from miles away.

He had a feeling it was Nina’s mom.

He gently placed her on the bench and took out a sheet of paper and a pen and scribbled something on it.

He placed the note beside the girl and gently draped his jacket over her before quickly hiding behind a tree.

Soon the police car arrived and two women rushed out along with two police officers.

Both women looked to be in their thirties and wore matching night robes that danced in the wind as they ran.

They had long black hair and nice curves with worried expressions.

One looked just like Nina, making it clear she was Nina’s mother.

The other had long wavy black hair, a soft face, and very nice curves.

She was probably the pretty neighbor lady.

Both women looked beautiful, but the other woman was prettier.

Reiji stared at the two women running toward the playground.

’My Hina is still the prettiest.’

[Shadow Step.]

Reiji’s figure disappeared from behind the tree.

Nina’s mother stared at the jacket covering her daughter’s body in surprise.

"Who did Nina meet?"

She muttered while looking around.

"What’s the problem?"

The pretty neighbor lady asked as she scooped Nina into her arms.

"The jacket. It looks like a man’s jacket."

"Maybe it belongs to a nice lady."

The lady said.

The thought sounded plausible, so they both dismissed it and assumed it was just a kind woman who had covered Nina with the jacket.

But something didn’t sit right with Nina’s mother.

She noticed the paper on the bench and picked it up.

She unfolded it and read it.

"Please show more attention toward your daughter. The neighborhood is safe, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know where your child is. What if this had happened before? You probably wouldn’t have found your child here."

Nina’s mother read the words on the paper with a relieved expression.

She was glad a kind lady had met her child.

"Something urgent came up so I couldn’t stay with her and left after you arrived. But please keep an eye on your kid. Also, when you go over to ’the pretty neighbor lady’s house to go play.’

P.S. These were your child’s words."

Nina’s mother’s face held a slight blush.

She awkwardly glanced over at the sleeping Nina in the pretty lady’s arms.

"What is it?"

"Nothing..."

Nina’s mother said, but her cheeks burned hot.

She didn’t know her little daughter was this observant.

Kids really were something.