Section 8: The Warmth of Home

To be honest, Malin's mind was still a mess up to now.

It had only been a month since he reincarnated into this new world, and he had already experienced so much, having even become the Archbishop's Apprentice.

What about Gaiate, though? Although he was just a stepfather, he was after all the father who had picked him up and brought him home. Some people couldn't even act like a decent human, let alone a father. Malin felt he truly needed to thank Gaiate. Thus, calling him father was without any sense of guilt.

After all, he once was just a homeless stray dog, an orphan who had lived in an orphanage since he was young. If it weren't for the guidance from the old lady in primary school, who knows how many wrong paths he might have taken. Therefore, Malin held respect for his teachers, and even more so, he had a deep reverence for Gaiate, who filled the role of a father.

So, he ultimately decided to return to his own home, reporting to the Bishop at the Holy Hall every day at dawn.

Perhaps this required more of Malin's energy and time, but he really didn't want to be an ungrateful person... Of course, part of the reason was that he didn't want Maya to bite her tail bald.

That beautiful tail, silver-white with black rings, should always remain as lovely. If it were to go bald, Malin felt his guilt would be immense.

Mr. Colin had some objections to this, but with the approval of His Excellency Sherindor, his opinions were not so important anymore.

So, when Malin, dressed in the Church's gray Apprentice attire, returned to his home at 418 Carfa Avenue with Maya, the daughter and son who opened the door saw their old father sitting on the sofa smoking, the entire enclosed room filled with swirling smoke.

This middle-aged man pursed his lips, seemingly sulking, but when he lifted his head and saw the person who shouldn't have appeared before him, his brows still furrowed, "Did you run back home?"

"No, I've spoken with His Excellency Sherindor, I'm a day student Apprentice." Malin walked to the window, unlocked the latch, and then opened the window.

"Why." His father asked behind him, in a tone of confusion and doubt.

"The Church's Holy Hall guest room beds are softer than home, and the food tastes better than at home, but after all, it's not home." Malin turned to look at the middle-aged man and Maya with a smile, "I've already gotten used to sleeping on a hard wooden bed, and even more used to the meat that Maya roasts."

The little Leopard Girl pounced over, almost knocking Malin out the window.

Gaiate pursed his lips, put the cigarette butt in the ashtray, then stood up, "I'm going to the market to buy some food, don't go out to play, wait for me to come back."

"Hmm." Malin and Maya answered in unison, then went together to the door, watching him go down the stairs before closing the door.

Maya's tail was so happy it was pointing straight up to the sky.

The little Leopard Girl ran to the kitchen, starting to prepare the ingredients needed for the evening.

Malin loosened the tie of his Apprentice attire's collar, unbuttoned it, and took off the Apprentice coat, hanging it on the coat rack.

He unbuckled the gun holster and then hung the chest-style gun holster on another hook of the coat rack.

Drawing the small Revolver from the holster, Malin popped out the cylinder, four .22 caliber Quicksilver Bullets already in place.

If he ever encountered The Cutter again, he would only need one shot to take care of it—of course, aiming for the head, since hitting the body or limbs wouldn't kill it in one shot.

Generally, the license to use a Revolver is issued by the guild, but the Church can also directly issue one to its members. As long as both parties recognize the validity of each other's documents, there won't be any inexplicable issues.

So now Malin also was part of the gun-owning community, only before undergoing complete training, he still couldn't openly use weapons—the previous assault training was meant to teach Malin how to use the Revolver without harming himself or others.

They didn't know that Malin, even if he had never used a Revolver, was at least a virtual player of it, as not all the operations in various games and movies were accurate. But at the very least, his military career taught him how not to harm himself or others with it.

First of all, never point the gun at anyone when the hammer is cocked, whether or not there are bullets in the cylinder.

Doing so won't make others feel tense, nor will it make oneself feel tense.

The rest is about how to aim accurately, rather than hoping the target catches the bullet well.

After removing the bullet, he put the gun back in its holster. Malin tossed the bullet into his ammunition pouch and then threw the pouch onto his own bed.

Separating the ammo from the gun was the second step. Although it was a bit of a hassle, it was also a safety measure. Malin understood guns, and Gaiate could handle them, but Maya didn't. That little Leopard Girl's curiosity could be piqued very easily. Not just one Malin, but twelve of him could be killed right before your eyes if they incited her curiosity.

The problem was that Malin had only one life, and the Deity probably wouldn't give him a second chance to start over.

So, it was better to be cautious.

He took off his boots and tucked the dagger from the boot's edge under his pillow. Then Malin slipped into his house slippers, followed by a bathrobe. The spring in Carterburg was not warm, and at night, the temperature made Malin feel cold, needing blankets and a fire for warmth.

Approaching the fireplace, Malin used the fire tongs to arrange the kindling and then lit it.

"Malin, come help me."

The call from the kitchen made Malin go over, where he then took a plate of potatoes and a small knife from Maya's hands.

Ah, it was the happy time for peeling again.

The setting sun sent its last warmth through the window into the kitchen while Malin peeled potatoes, watching Maya skillfully handle a big fish with the small knife.

Surprisingly, Maya was quite adept at using the small knife. She could easily process fish and small animals, dissecting them and sorting them accordingly.

This might also be a kind of talent, Malin thought. He wondered what kind of category of Spell Formation would be compatible with the little Leopard Girl.

"Maya, have you ever tested for Spell Formation affinity?" Malin asked.

"No," Maya answered swiftly.

"Why don't you try it once?" Malin posed another question.

"Because Panso cat people are not skilled with using Spell Formations. Among us, there are those born with a natural aptitude for Spell Formations, but we cannot learn them on our own," Maya's explanation made Malin pause for a moment. Then he immediately thought of another way to describe this difference—if Malin was like a Mage, then the Panso cat people's innate mastery of Spell Formations was similar to that of a Magician.

"So, do you have any natural Spell Formations you're good at?" Malin asked again.

"No, Maya... seems to be one of the dimmer cat people," Maya said, her mood seeming to change slightly. Her lips pursed, but in the end, she smiled at Malin: "But it's fine to have Malin. Big brother Malin will definitely protect Maya, right?"

Malin nodded and simultaneously grabbed the little Leopard Girl's tail.

Maya's eyes immediately went wide.

Malin smiled and moved her tail away from her mouth.

"Bite again, and it really will go bald."

In that moment, Malin explained with gravity.

Maya blinked: "I won't bite," then she pulled her tail out of Malin's hand.

For some reason, Malin always felt that Maya's face was a little red. The thought crossed the mind of a forty-year-old single worker who decided to attribute this to the last bit of heat dispersed by the sun.

Regardless, such a little Leopard Girl was quite cute.

...Praise the sun.