Chapter 6: Daily Life Become A Father

<p>After the bandit attack in the village of Spira, Nao finally took Anna in as his foster daughter. Nao still felt unprepared to be a father, but he felt obligated to fulfill his promise to Anna's parents to protect her. At that moment, Nao was writing in his diary when Anna approached him.<br/><br/>"What are you doing, Dad?" Anna asked, looking at Nao.<br/><br/>"Uhh... I'm not used to being called that," Nao thought to himself after hearing his new title.<br/><br/>"Umm... I'm writing a diary for the guild report," Nao answered.<br/><br/>"A diary? Does Dad have to write that often?" Anna continued with her questions.<br/><br/>"Yes, Anna, it's also necessary for adventurers to share information with others," Nao replied.<br/><br/>Hearing Nao's answer, Anna wanted to learn to write like her father.<br/><br/>"Ohh.. Can Dad teach me how to write?" Hearing Anna's request, Nao tried to prepare writing materials.<br/><br/>"Of course, Anna, I'll get you a pencil and paper."<br/><br/>"Yay... Thank you, Dad," Anna said with a wide smile.<br/><br/>"Oh dear, her smile is too pure," Nao thought after seeing Anna's happy face.<br/><br/>"Wait a moment," Nao replied.<br/><br/>Nao gradually began to adapt to caring for Anna. Besides teaching Anna to write and read, Nao also taught her sword fighting so that Anna could defend herself.<br/><br/>"Anna! Listen carefully, you must learn sword fighting to become strong," Nao said, handing Anna a wooden sword.<br/><br/>"Alright, Dad, I'll do my best to become strong," Anna replied, taking the wooden sword.<br/><br/>"Try to attack me with that sword, Anna!" Nao immediately took a defensive stance.<br/><br/>Hearing the challenge, Anna immediately launched an attack on Nao.<br/><br/>"Haaa!"<br/><br/>Anna attacked Nao repeatedly, but none of her attacks could touch Nao. Nao always made Anna fall and almost made her cry from pain. But Nao kept encouraging Anna to get up and attack him again.<br/><br/>"Anna, always pay attention to your opponent's movements and use those openings to strike," Nao gave instructions to Anna.<br/><br/>"Alright! Hyaaa..." Anna began to carefully observe Nao's movements.<br/><br/>"Keep watching my steps until you can," Nao continued.<br/><br/>Anna kept attacking and observing Nao's steps, but she still couldn't hit Nao. After 3 hours of training, they took a break. Anna felt frustrated because her attacks couldn't touch Nao at all. Anna pouted.<br/><br/>"Hmm... None of my attacks landed. I don't understand why? I followed Dad's steps."<br/><br/>"Yes, you followed my steps, but you only focused on one point," Nao explained Anna's mistake in fighting. Hearing the answer didn't make Anna understand but confused her even more.<br/><br/>"I don't understand at all what Dad means," Anna asked again.<br/><br/>"So, Anna, when you fight against an opponent, you have to be able to read the situation around you. You can't just attack your opponent brutally; that will open up opportunities for the enemy to counterattack you," Nao explained again.<br/><br/>"So, Dad's point is I have to find the enemy's weaknesses like that?" Anna replied.<br/><br/>"Exactly, you catch on quickly," Nao continued, patting Anna's head.<br/><br/>"Hehehe... Alright, I'll keep trying my best to defeat Dad!" Anna said enthusiastically.<br/><br/>"That's the spirit I want. Oh.. Anna, can you come with me for a moment?" Nao continued, inviting Anna.<br/><br/>"Huh?" Anna just stayed silent and obediently followed Nao.<br/><br/>Nao took Anna into the house and bathed her because her body was dirty from their training. Last week was Nao's first time bathing a little girl, and he felt confused. But after many practices and learning the basics from Miss Mayrel, he wasn't too awkward anymore when bathing directly.<br/><br/>"You have such large wings, Anna, even though you're still small," Nao said, scrubbing Anna's wings.<br/><br/>"Of course, Dragon races must have wide wings as a sign that I am a very strong and feared figure," Anna said confidently.<br/><br/>"Can't these make you fly, Anna?" Nao asked.<br/><br/>"I haven't learned yet because Mom and Dad didn't teach me how to fly," Anna replied while scrubbing her body with soap.<br/><br/>"Hmmm... Interesting," Nao said, continuing to stroke Anna's wings. Her cheeks turned red.<br/><br/>"Dad, stop stroking my wings, it tickles, Dad," Anna said.<br/><br/>"Oh... I'm sorry, I got carried away," Nao said, stopping stroking Anna's wings.<br/><br/>"It's okay, Dad," Anna said, feeling embarrassed.<br/><br/>"Damn, you're so stupid, Nao, she might think you're a pedophile," Nao cursed to himself.<br/><br/>"Come on, Anna, bathing is done," Nao said while wiping Anna with a towel.<br/><br/>"Okay, please hand me the towel," Anna said with a smile.<br/><br/>"Yes, Anna," Nao said, then he started to wipe Anna with the towel.<br/><br/>After bathing Anna, Nao gave her a new dress. Previously, Nao visited a clothing, armor, and weapon shop for Anna. Nao met a couple, Mr. Sich from the elf race and Miss Ruth from the dwarf race.<br/><br/>"Welcome to our shop," Sich and Ruth said simultaneously.<br/><br/>"Hello, Mr. Sich and Miss Ruth. Regards from Nao," Nao said, holding Anna's right hand.<br/><br/>"Oh, Mr. Nao, you rarely come here wearing casual clothes. Usually, you come here still wearing your flashy armor," Sich teased.<br/><br/>"Well, now I come here not for my needs but for this little girl," Nao said, nudging Anna gently to show herself.<br/><br/>"Ha...Hello," Anna greeted, feeling embarrassed with a red color on her cheeks.<br/><br/>"Oh my, you're so cute, come here, let me hug you," Ruth said, immediately approaching Anna and hugging her tightly.<br/><br/>"So, the village head decided you would be his caretaker? I wouldn't be surprised," Sich said, watching Anna being hugged by Ruth.<br/><br/>"What can I do? Because I was the one who saved Anna, so I accepted her responsibility," Nao said, scratching the back of his head.<br/><br/>Then Sich clapped his hands, "Alright, enough of your family moments, here's the total you have to pay, Mr. Nao," Sich said, handing Nao a payment paper.<br/><br/>"Oh... Excuse me, Anna, I'll pay first," Nao said to Anna.<br/><br/>"Alright, Dad," Anna replied with a smile.<br/><br/>After everything was settled, Nao paid for all the clothes for Anna and other equipment for her training. Sich informed that the clothes would be ready in a week, so Nao had to come back to Sich to pick them up. But for the remaining equipment, Nao would take them with him.<br/><br/>Back to the present, after bathing Anna, Nao gave her new clothes. Anna was very happy with the new clothes. Finally, Nao helped Anna put on the new clothes and comb her long hair.<br/><br/>"So, how do you feel, comfortable?" Nao asked.<br/><br/>"Yes, I like this," Anna replied with a smile.<br/><br/>"I requested the design to be similar to your mother's, Anna, so you'll always feel like she's close to you every day," Nao said, smiling.<br/><br/>"Oh... Thank you, Dad! You're the best," Anna said, then got up and hugged Nao tightly while smiling.<br/><br/>"Oh my, that sweet smile again," Nao thought to himself. "You're welcome, I'm glad you like it," Nao said.<br/><br/>"Alright, let's eat. I'll cook," Nao said.<br/><br/>"Oh please make Grilled Beef with Wheat Soup and bread again," Anna requested.<br/><br/>"You really like that menu," Nao remarked.<br/><br/>"Yes, because it's the most delicious food I've ever eaten," Anna said.<br/><br/>Nao sighed. "Alright, I'll make that menu since you've trained so hard before."<br/><br/>"Yippee.. I love you, Dad!" Anna exclaimed happily.<br/><br/>Nao prepared the ingredients for cooking while Anna set the tableware on the dining table. Nao felt that all the household chores became easier with Anna in his life now. After all the recipes were gathered, Nao was ready to cook.<br/><br/>"Ok, time to cook, but I have to light the firewood first," Nao said.<br/><br/>"Oh.. Let me do it, Dad," Anna said, taking a deep breath. "Fuuuuh..." Anna blew a small flame from her mouth. "Done! The firewood is lit," Anna said.<br/><br/>"Wow... You can breathe fire? Where did you learn that, Anna?" Nao asked, amazed by Anna's recent action.<br/><br/>"Hehehe, Dad taught me how to use fire breath," Anna replied, scratching the back of her head.<br/><br/>"Can every Dragon race do that?" Nao asked.<br/><br/>"Not all Dragon races can breathe fire. It depends on each individual's elemental basis," Anna explained.<br/><br/>"So, depending on the elemental basis, if it's water, they'll breathe water?" Nao asked, slicing the beef.<br/><br/>"Yes, Dad, you got it," Anna replied, watching Nao slice the beef.<br/><br/>"I understand now. Thanks for the info, Anna," Nao said, then stroked Anna's head.<br/><br/>"I'm glad to help you, Dad," Anna said with a big smile.<br/><br/>Nao and Anna began cooking their dinner. They always looked happy together while waiting for the dishes to be ready. After 5 minutes passed, their dinner was ready.<br/><br/>"Enjoy your meal!" Nao and Anna said simultaneously. Anna started eating first.<br/><br/>"Wow, Dad's homemade food is always delicious," Anna praised.<br/><br/>"It's nothing special, and besides, this is just a simple meal that everyone can make," Nao said while enjoying his meal.<br/><br/>"Still, it's very tasty.." Anna continued to eat her food eagerly.<br/><br/>Nao smiled. "I'm glad you like it," he said.<br/><br/>After dinner, Nao cleaned up the tableware, and Anna went to bed first. Anna felt full with the meal Nao made. After finishing cleaning, Nao followed Anna to bed. They would sleep in one bed because Nao hadn't made another bed yet from the furniture in the village of Spira.<br/><br/>"Come on, Anna, let's sleep. I have work tomorrow," Nao said.<br/><br/>"No, I want to hear Dad's adventure stories again," Anna whined while hugging her pillow.<br/><br/>"You really love hearing about my adventures," Nao protested. "Aren't you tired of hearing them?" Nao asked.<br/><br/>"No, it motivates me every time I hear Dad's stories," Anna replied with a big smile.<br/><br/>Nao finally gave in. "Alright, after this, we'll sleep, okay?" Nao said.<br/><br/>Anna was overjoyed, and Nao started telling stories.<br/><br/>Every night before sleeping, Anna would ask Nao to tell his life story as an adventurer. This became a routine after Nao first told half of his story during dinner. Anna immediately loved the story. From then on, every night Anna couldn't sleep without hearing Nao's life story as an adventurer. Not only that, Nao told his story so Anna could have sweet dreams because she always had nightmares due to her trauma. After finishing telling his story to Anna, she fell asleep soundly.<br/><br/>"Huh.. Finally," Nao said, then blew out the candle on the wooden shelf. "Good night, Anna," Nao said, stroking Anna's hair.<br/><br/>Finally, Nao began to get used to his new life with Anna. Although there would be many obstacles ahead, Nao would always feel by Anna's side. Because Nao had begun to understand the meaning of protecting something precious.<br/><br/>"Mom, Dad, please watch over me. Now I have a new family that I have to take care of, so please continue to guide me," Nao prayed to his parents in his heart. Nao finally fell asleep while hugging Anna.<br/><br/>TO BE CONTINUED...</p>