Waiting (3)

<Author's note: The things (racism, sexism, political views, etc.) depicted or mentioned in this story do not reflect the real world and are purely coincidences. If they do, please keep in mind that they are simply for world-building and are only work of fiction. Thank you for your understanding.>

Nathan just finished washing the dishes and was wiping his hands with a piece of cloth.

After doing so, he went to the living room to see how Zita was doing.

When he got there, he found her sitting at one of the sofas and playing with some Bolts.

He swept his gaze at the windows.

Each window was covered with two blankets and was nailed with Bolts.

'I guess it'll do…'

'Sigh… I never thought it would be this hard to travel with someone who doesn't have invisibility, not to mention a little girl…'

'Well, at least she did a good job with the windows…'

He went over to one of the sofas and sat down.

"Good job with the windows. Did you also cover the ones inside the room?"

"Yes."

Nathan smiled and said, "Good."

Zita went back to playing with the Bolts.

Silence.

A minute passed.

Still silence.

Nathan massaged his forehead.

'Ugh... This is awkward…'

'I mean, last night we didn't get to experience this because she left and then returned. And when she returned she immediately went to bed…'

'And then at the helicopter, well, we talked about --'

He stopped massaging his forehead.

'Yeah, we can talk about the System.'

He was about to open his mouth but stopped.

'Wait! What else is there to talk about? I think we already covered everything back in the helicopter…'

'I don't want to be like a broken record…'

'Okay, so what other things can we talk about aside from the System?'

'Maybe about her family?'

He shook his head.

'No, no. I already messed up back at the dining table…'

'I don't want to remind this kid about her parents…'

'How about playing cards?'

'Ugh… I don't have any cards with me…'

'And I don't think there's any cards here…'

'But I think we have a chessboard here…'

'Yeah, I remember we used to have a chessboard here…'

'I will have to find it though...'

'I just hope it's still here and pieces are complete…'

He was about to stand up and look for the chessboard when he stopped and turned to her.

"Kid, do you know how to play chess?"

"No."

"Checkers?"

"No."

Nathan didn't say anything and just stared at her as he thought, 'Sigh… Kids these days…'

"I'm sorry, mister..."

"No, no, no. You have nothing to be sorry about. It's okay. You're a girl after all. It's normal that you don't know how to play chess or checkers."

"..."

"Wait here. I'll go look for the chessboard. I'll teach you once I get back. Be sure to keep your ears open for any sign of an intruder."

"Okay."

Nathan finally left to search for the chessboard.

***

A couple of minutes later.

Nathan was heading back to the living room with the chessboard on his hand.

He found it under the bed of his parents.

"Kid, come here. I'll teach you how to play checkers first. It's easier," he said as he sat down on the floor next to the coffee table.

Zita put down the Bolts she was playing with, stood up and then sat opposite to him.

"Can you bring the emergency lamp a bit closer?" he said and pointed.

She turned to the emergency lamp that Nathan was pointing and moved it using her skill [Lift].

"Hmm... How about letting it hover on top of us? I mean, if that's not stressful on you and it might fall or something," said Nathan.

"It's okay. As long as I don't fall asleep, it will never fall," Zita said as she moved the emergency lamp and let it hover above them.

"Okay, let me teach you how to play this game…"

He started explaining the rules…

***

One game later…

Tap.

Nathan captured the last piece of Zita's units with a pawn.

"Game over, kid."

It was her first time playing this game, he didn't make any of his pieces as "Kings".

Zita didn't say anything and her eyes were staring at the board, trying to remember everything that Nathan did.

"Do you understand the game?"

She raised her head and looked at him, "Yes, mister."

"One more game?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, in the next game I'll let you go first."

***

The second game later…

Tap.

"Game over, kid."

Just like the previous game, Nathan won and didn't make any of his pieces as "Kings."

Also, Zita was again staring at the chessboard, trying to remember everything that Nathan did. And compared to the previous game, this time, her eyes were a little intense.

She pouted her lips to the side.

"One more?"

She raised her head and looked at him.

"Yes, one more."

Nathan smiled and said, "Okay. I'll still let you go first."

***

The third game later…

Tap.

"Game over again, kid."

Nathan captured Zita's last piece with his "King".

Unlike the other two games, Zita was already starting to get the hang of it so Nathan had to be a little serious.

Zita was pouting her lips to the side as she stared at the chessboard. Her eyes were also a little more intense compared to the second game.

Nathan smiled and said, "On--"

She raised her head and cut him off, "Mister, can you have more than 2 Kings?"

"Yeah, as many as you want. As long as your piece can get to the end of your opponent's row."

"One more game."

"Sure."

As they were arranging the pieces…

"If you want, you can have 1 free King or you can take 2 pieces of my pieces at the start of the game."

"No, I don't need it. I can beat you fair and square. Just you watch. And mister, don't go easy on me."

Nathan smiled and said, "Okay."

Zita pouted her lips to the side and was murmuring under her breath.

***

Three more games later…

Tap.

Nathan captured Zita's last piece.

In these 3 new set of games, Zita lost all of them.

And this time, she was staring at the chessboard with so much intensity that Nathan was starting to get a little worried already.

In the first and second game, she was able to make 1 King.

In the third game, she was able to make 2 Kings.

And yet, she still lost.

Nathan glanced at his watch.

8:30 pm.

"Kid, I think we already had enough."

She raised her head and said, "Mister, one more! I think I will finally beat you this time!"

He chuckled and said, "Keep your voice down, kid."

"Sorry, mister."

"It's okay. I understand where you're coming from. But this will be the last game. After that, you have to take a bath, drink your milk and then go to bed because we have to leave early in the morning to go to Fort Yano."

"Okay."

***

The seventh game later…

Tap.

Zita's expression was of disbelief.

In this final game, she was able to make 3 Kings.

However, she still lost.

"Okay, go take a bath now. Remember, tie your hair and don't get it wet. You've already shampooed your hair for 2 days straight now. You can only shampoo your hair 2-3 times a week or else you're going to destroy your hair."

"Okay..."

"Be sure to use the face towel to scrub. Do you know how to use a face towel?"

"Yes, I know."

"You already have your towel and extra clothes with you, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, go. And don't forget to bring one of the emergency lamps."

"Yes, yes," she said and pouted her lips to the side.

A few minutes later…

Zita stepped out of the bathroom and wearing a set of new clothes.

"Kid, come here."

She went to the kitchen where Nathan was drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette.

When she approached him, he pressed his nose close to her.

Sniff.

Sniff.

"Good, you smell good. Even your hair still smells good. Now go drink your milk and then brush your teeth. And after that, drink 1/4 glass of water because you might wake up with a sore throat in the morning."

There was half a glass of milk on the table.

Although it was only half a glass, Nathan made sure to put a least 2 spoons of powdered milk. He made it half a glass so that even if she drinks 1/4 glass of water after brushing her teeth, she won't have to wake up in the middle of the night to do Lady Business #1.

Zita drank the glass of milk.

After that, she brushed her teeth and then drank 1/4 glass of water.

"It's time to go to bed. You're going to sleep at the 'small room'."

Nathan decided to dub his former room as the "small room" and his parents' room as the "big room".

"Okay," she said and went to her room.

When Zita left, Nathan checked the back and front door if they were locked. He also checked the windows to make sure they were closed and covered with blankets. Furthermore, he added some simple traps that would make noise in case someone would forcefully enter the house.

He then washed his face brushed his teeth before heading to the living room.

He summoned two pillows and two comforters and laid them down on the floor.

Thanks to the [Artifact] Divine Blood that he ingested and changed his body to 2.2m (or around 7'2"), it was hard for him to find a bed his size, especially here in Muwin where the average height of males is 5'7" and 5'5" for the females.

He didn't activate [Coward's Way] nor did he unequip his items.

In his mind, given that Zita didn't have invisibility and was a kid, he was going to be the first line of defense.

However…

'My God… It's so fucking hot!'

Back in Womania, the fall season was right around the corner so it was already starting to get cold.

But here in Muwin, it was a tropical country and there were only two seasons -- very hot and very wet.

And in the case of the "very wet" season, there are times it can be very cold and there also times it can be humid.

And right now, it was the latter.

'First thing I'm going to do tomorrow is to find a generator and a rechargeable fan. This heat is just crazy!'

He glanced at the door of the small room.

It was open and he could Zita lying down at one of the beds.

'Ahh… I also forgot about a mosquito net in case I can't find a rechargeable fan…'

'Well, I just hope she can get some sleep tonight. Even if just at least 6 hours…'

He sniffed.

'This house still smells the same...'

About 2 hours passed before Nathan finally fell asleep and dreamt about a certain memory…

*********************************************

Author's thoughts:

Hello, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading!

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