A/N: Another chapter let's go! Sorry for the long wait. I hope you guys stay safe during this pandemic and hope we all can get through this together.

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

"Just another minute ma! ... or maybe another hour." I grumble as my pleasant sleep is interrupted.

"Fajar! Wake up! It's already morning!"

'Wait... That voice... That's not ma's...'

Instantly my eyes open I jolt up from bed when I'm finally back into my senses.

"Whoa!"

"Fajar? You okay?" Wiz asks, concerns about my sudden outburst.

"Wiz? Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be down in a minute." I reply, rubbing my drowsy eyes.

I yawn as I'm still tired from last night incident. 'I swear to God, if I ever find Chris again, I'm gonna make her pay.' I grumpily thought as I head to the bathroom.

I head down to the kitchen to see Wiz, this time preparing some breads with cheese slices. "(yawn) Good morning Wiz." I say as I walk to the dining table. "Oh, morning Fajar." She greets me back.

"Are you alright? You look rather more tired than usual." She says as she sees my face, which screams "sleep deprived" all over it.

"Yeah... I'm just having a hard time falling asleep last night." After dragged around the town by a thief though.

Wiz just nods at my answer. I'm sure she's still not convinced, but I put up a smile, trying not to worry her. We continue finishing our breakfast before the shop opens.

*KO*NO*SU*BA*

The shop opens for business and I waste no time to start working. I can't go out questing as long as the Demon King's leader still near the town. So, I'm obligated to help Wiz at the shop.

I'm sweeping the sidewalk in front of the shop when a voice catches my attention. "Hey kid!" I turn around to see our guest from yesterday, Brad and Rosary. But this time, they're not alone.

"Oh, hey Brad. Rosary. And you're must be Mary." I greet them, and I crouch down eyes to eyes with a little girl who's hiding behind Rosary's legs.

"Yes, this is Mary, our daughter. Mary, this is Fajar, Auntie Wiz's employee." The girl, Mary peeks a little from behind her mother's legs to get a look at me, before back into hiding. Mary is an almost exact carbon copy of Rosary, except with dark brown hair just like Brad's.

I stand up and start walking back into the shop. "Come in, Wiz is waiting for you guys, and she's excited to see you, Mary. Heh, in fact she's too excited that she cannot stay still and keep walking back and forth." I say as I enter the shop, followed by those three. "That sounds exactly like Wiz." Rosary says, followed by a chuckle from her husband.

To say that Wiz's excited to see Mary is an understatement. And that little girl, who's timid and shy earlier suddenly become more open and friendly when she sees Wiz. Well, I'm still a stranger to her so that's understandable.

I watch the exchange between Wiz and Mary, which the former said that they'll be having a fun time together.

Rosary tell Wiz about Mary's sleep schedule, likes and dislikes and so on.

I suddenly yawn as I'm still sleep deprived because of what happened last night. "You okay kid?" Suddenly Brad says to me while he's waiting for his wife. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a little bit sleepy, that's all." I say. He just chuckles while shaking his head. "Keep yourself together. One airhead is enough for this shop. Try some coffee. It will help." I just nod at his advice. He then leave me and walk towards his wife.

"Rosary, we have to go now if we don't want to miss the cart." "Alright. Mary, behave for your Auntie Wiz. We will be back in three days. Love you sweetheart." Rosary plants a kiss on her daughter's forehead and bid farewell as they're leaving the shop.

Silence fills the shop for a moment after the two left. "Now, Mary. Why not you sit here while I prepare some snacks for you. You love biscuits, right?" Wiz says to the little girl.

Mary just nods, walking to the coffee table where Wiz usually served tea. Wiz helps the girl to get up onto the chair then proceed to the kitchen, carrying a bag which contains Mary's clothes that Rosary brought earlier.

As Wiz is busy in the kitchen, I stay at the counter in case there are customers come into the shop. I'm just standing there, trying to fight my urge to sleep.

Suddenly, I feel something hits my feet. I look down and see a pencil. "Huh?" Where does this come from?

I look up and see Mary is eyeing the pencil. She looks up and sees me, then immediately avert her focus away from me, as she's avoiding me.

Ah, yes. Rosary did says she's afraid of strangers.

I bend down and take the pencil, then slowly approach the little girl. "Here, this is yours, right?" I say gently. Mary slowly turns her head towards me, and she nods. Slowly, her hand rises and take the pencil from my hand. I smile and return back to the counter.

Wiz return from the kitchen with a tray of biscuits and a glass of apple juice. "Oh, you're drawing Mary?" Mary look up at Wiz and nods, looking more comfortable talking to Wiz, contrast to me.

While Wiz looks after Mary, entertaining her with some stories, which from her past, or that she just makes up, I look after the shop. Some customers come to buy a few things, some also noticed Wiz with Mary. A few even ask when did Wiz have a child, which I have to explain the situation to them, much to my annoyance. These people, I swear...

And all of those while fighting my heavy eyes.

"Fajar?" Suddenly Wiz call out my name while I'm spacing out. "Huh? Wh- oh, Wiz. Yeah?" It is obvious that I've been spacing out, Wiz just shakes her head slightly. Then, I realize there's an old lady behind her. "I'm needed to exorcist a haunted house. I need you to look after Mary and the shop." She says.

I really have no idea how to deal with the girl, but it seems like I didn't have a choice. "Alright, you can count on me." I put on a fake confidence, more to put Wiz at ease than encouraging myself. Well, I guess we just need to wait until Wiz get back, right?

"Mary, I need to be somewhere else for a while. Behave yourself for Fajar while I'm gone." she says to the little girl. Mary, although her sad expression is obvious, she still nod and get back to her drawing. I wonder what she's been drawing.

I yawn for the God-knows-how-many times since this morning. 'Maybe I should take Brad's advice and make some coffee.' I get up from my seat at the counter and go to the kitchen. I put some water into the kettle and put it on the stove to boil. I return to my seat and wait.

I rest my head for a while on the counter, while keeping an eye on Mary. She looks busy enough, so maybe I can rest a bit. I close my eyes, just to rest it for a bit.

And without me noticing, I dozed off.

*ko*no*su*ba*

(shhhh... he's asleep)

A high-pitched sound stirs me to awake. "Wha-What?!" I look around finding the source of the sound.

Then I remember. "Shit! The kettle!" I run to the kitchen, and indeed the sound come from the kettle. I quickly turn off the stove. I sigh in relief. "Phew... That's a close one." I leave the kitchen to return to the counter.

"Mary, why didn't you wake me-" As I look at the table, the girl wasn't there. "Wh-Mary?!" I begin to panick and frantically looking around to find the girl.

"Mary? Mary! Where are you?" I search the whole house. The shop area, the kitchen, the library, and even upstairs, but the girl are nowhere to be find.

"Dammit! Don't tell me she leave the shop on her own! Brad gonna kill me! Forget Brad, Wiz going to kill!" I grab my coat and leave the shop in hurry.

I run around the area, shouting her name. I ask a few neighbors, but they also didn't see the little girl anywhere. "Mary! Where are you!"

I continue to search for her around the area, until I arrive at the bazaar. "Mary! Mary!" I walk through the crowd, calling her name while looking for the dark-brown-haired girl.

"What are you doing here alone little girl? Are you lost?" Wait, that voice, I know that voice. I push through the crowd and I found it. It's Megumin and Kazuma! And she's talking to-

"Mary!" The girl turns around as her name is called. Megumin and Kazuma seem to notice me too. "Oh hey Faj-" Kazuma didn't even get to finish as I rush in front of him and towards the little girl.

"Mary where have you been?! Why are you here?!" I question her, shouting a bit too loud that she's visibly flinch. "I-I want to get some ice cream-"

"And you didn't even think about telling me first?!"

"Fajar! Cut it out! You're scaring her!" Suddenly Megumin yell at my face, making me backing off.

Did I went overboard? Damn, I messed up...

It's true, Mary is hiding behind Megumin's leg, trying to avoid eye contact with me.

I sigh, and Kazuma just looks at me, with and expression that says "You messed up badly". I kneel down to the little girl level.

"Mary, I'm sorry. I know, I messed up and I should not shout at you like that. I'm not mad, I promise. I just worried, that's all. You're my responsibility and both Wiz and your parents trusted me. I'm sorry if I make you sad." I say gently, trying to make up for my mistake.

Mary just looks at me from behind Megumin's legs. "But you're a meanie. You shout at me." She grumbles, almost inaudible. When I think about it, this is the first time I hear her voice. I just hope it's under a better circumstances.

(sigh) How should I do this.

"You know, Mary," Suddenly Megumin speaks up. "A good girl forgive people. You're a good girl right?" Megumin statement causing Mary to look both confused and troubled. "But he's a meanie." She says, looking at Megumin.

"But a meanie is also a human. And human makes mistakes. He already apologized, didn't he?" This time, Kazuma joins in. Now, Mary looks at me and seems to be in a deep thought. I pray to God that she at least not upset that I accidentally shouted at her. "Okay, I forgive you. But I want a double scoop ice cream!"

I smile at her request. "I'll make it a triple scoop. How about that?" It seems like it works, since Mary comes out from her hiding behind Megumin's legs. "Deal." I sigh in relief. "So... Fajar? Who's this kid? Your child?" Megumin asks me out of nowhere.

"What?! How do you come to that conclusion? No, this is Mary, her parents are my boss's friend and we're babysitting her for a few days." I tell her. How the heck she thought that I have a child of my own. Then I get an idea. I look at Kazuma, and then at Megumin, back and forth.

"So... What are you guys up to? A date perhaps?" I say teasingly.

"Wh-What?!"

"Hell no!"

I just chuckle, enjoy watching them flustered while Mary looking at them confused. "You did than on purpose, didn't you?" Kazuma says, glaring at me. I smirk at him "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not."

"We're going outside the town for an explosion practice!" Megumin exclaims, complete with her chuuni pose. "Explosion magic? You can do that, Miss?" Suddenly Mary ask, sparkles in her eyes. "Fufufu... Of course I can! You're looking at the strongest arch wizard from the Crimson Demon clan!" Again with the self boasting. Well, she's talking to a kid after all. Maybe I'll let it slip this time.

I look at Mary, and she seems really interested. She suddenly tugs the hem of my sleeve. "Huh, what's wrong Mary?" I kneel down to her level and she whispers something to me. "Can go too?" Huh? I didn't really expecting that. I give it a thought for a while. "Hmm... I'm not sure Mary. We need to ask Wiz first." As I say that, Mary seems dejected at first.

"Don't worry! You can come with us tomorrow!" Megumin exclaims, gaining two different reactions from Mary and Kazuma. Mary seems delighted while Kazuma...

"Wait wait wait! What do you mean tomorrow?!"

"Huh? What? You think one day practice is enough? No! I need to practice every day to create the perfect explosion!"

I just sweatdroped as Kazuma and Megumin start bickering with each other. "Errr... I think I will leave now. Let's go Mary, you want ice cream right?"

Mary nods, and we slowly leave the two at the scene.

*KO*NO*SU*BA*

We found an ice cream stall at the bazaar and as I promised, I get Mary a triple scoop vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. Right now, we're on our way back to the shop walking while I hold her hand, guiding her.

When I think about it, this is our first interaction since she got here. "Errr... Mary, I just want to say sorry again. I'm kinda ashamed, it's the first time you're talking to me and I'm shouting at you. You forgive me right?" I say.

She looks at me and lift up her ice cream cone and exclaims, "You already get me an ice cream! I forgive you! You are not a meanie anymore."

I just smile at her innocence. After meeting all kinds of people here, I sometimes forget how people back in my world behaves. Here, most of the people are fighting for a better tomorrow, either fighting the Demon King or work hard for their family. Completely contrast with people in my world. An illusion of a "peace" and "prosperous" world have been imprinted in most of people's mind, causing them to take life for granted. Mary here is grateful enough for a cone of ice cream, while a kid in my world can get almost every gaming console, every latest tech and still throwing tantrum at the parents.

(sigh) What a horrible world I used to live in...

"Big bro Fajar?" Suddenly I hear Mary call me. Huh, kinda funny to be called that by a kid that I just yelled at. "Yeah?"

"Why does Auntie Wiz stand in front of the shop while looking angry?" My head turns quickly at the direction she's pointing, and indeed, Wiz is standing in front of the door, and she doesn't look happy.

I'm in trouble, am I?

"Fajar! Where have you been? You leave the shop unlocked! Luckily I got home before anything bad happened!" Wiz lectures me, and she's really looked mad.

"Errr... Actually-" "We go get some ice cream!" Before I can come up with something to defend myself, suddenly Mary interrupts, taking Wiz's focus on her. "Yeah! That's right! Mary wants some ice cream so we go get some. I didn't lock the door because I thought it would take long." I say, trying to convince my boss.

Wiz stares at me, so sharp that I think she can drill a hole on my face. Finally, she loosens up. "I forgive you this time, and only this time because of Mary." She says, and I sigh in relief. "Now, let's get in and help me close the shop Fajar."

*KO*NO*SU*BA*

After a delightful dinner, I help Wiz clean up the dishes while Mary, as usual, is drawing at the table. "Oh, right! Fajar?" Suddenly Wiz, who is washing the dishes call me out. "I have some errands to run tonight, so I might come home late. Can you make sure Mary sleeps on time?" She says as she hands me another plate for me to wipe dry.

While it does pique my interest on what errand she's talking about, I did not bother to ask about it if she's not telling me. "Okay. You can count on me."

After finishing cleaning up the dishes, Wiz leaves the shop for her errands. For the first time, I am not really tired that I didn't need to sleep early (maybe because the fact that I sleep on the day). So I take this opportunity to check out the mini library. Mary is busy drawing, so I hope she wouldn't cause too much of a trouble.

I enter the room and switch on the lights. The room is a bit small, and filled with bookshelves. There are about three bookshelves lined up in the room. "Wow, for a mini library, there's quite a lot of books." Even though there's a lot of it, Wiz has done a great job organizing them. There's a labeling for every section, categorizing the books into different categories.

As I browse through the books, one book caught my interest. A maroon leather bound book. Written on the spine of the book, in golden bold font, Adventurer Class- Tank. 'Huh, maybe I can find something in this book.' I thought. I take the book and leave the room.

I took a seat at the table, where Mary is drawing on the other side of the table. I open the book and start looking for the topic I'm interested in.

I began to flip through the pages. 'Nope, nope, nope, nope... This is it!'

On the top of the page, is the topic I'm looking for.

Berserkers

I began to read. "Berserker, an advanced class Tank-class fighter job. Act as the first line of assault to push through the enemy to make a way for other fighters. High defense and dexterity and can both deal and receive high damage. Berserker usually depends on pure strength, and rarely rely on skills. Having a low magic affinity also render them incapable of using magic. Although they are versatile and useful, high requirements for this class causing this class to be rare. The Berserker job is one of the few jobs, including basic Adventurer and Ranger, who can learn skills from other jobs. While basic Adventurer can learn from any other class, Berserkers can only learn Fighter class skills and it varies among individuals. Since there's limited records regarding this job, many aspects of this job remain unknown."

The information from the book explains a little about how my skills work. Not much, but better than none. I close the book shut and tap my fingers on the table. 'I am still a long way from defeating the Demon King. One of his general is here, but I doubt I can take on him alone. Maybe I can join the reinforcement sent by the capital, but I can say for sure if they would even allow a new adventurer to tag along.'

I let out a long sigh, the thought of not being able to return to my world frightens me. I still have so much to do with my life... Now that I thought about it, unlike me, others who had been brought into this world were dead in their own world, including Kazuma. He doesn't seem bothered about the fact though...

"Big bro Fajar?" Suddenly Mary's voice snaps me out of my train of thoughts. "Yeah?" "When will we go to the explosion practice with that cool mage lady?" Earlier, before dinner, Mary told Wiz about the explosion practice that Megumin mentioned. Surprisingly, Wiz is okay with it as long as we are back before dinner.

"Around noon. I haven't informed them yet, but I think I can find Kazuma at the guild next morning." I answer. Mary seems happy as she's humming while drawing. "You like explosion magic, Mary?" I ask her, trying to prompt a conversation with her. She nods eagerly. "I like explosion magic and all magic! I want to be a mage like Auntie Wiz!" She exclaims, but then her expression changes.

She looks a bit wretched. "But I cannot be an adventurer." That statement shocks me a bit. "Huh? Why not?" I ask her. "Mommy said that it was too dangerous. She also said she doesn't want to lose me." She sadly says.

Even though I think it's weird, since both Rosary and Brad are both former adventurers themselves, I can see the rationale in their worries. No parents want their child to adopt a dangerous job and lifestyle. Mister Millard lost his son in the line of duty, and no parents want to experience that.

"You should listen to them." Mary seems both shocked and dejected when I said that. "But-" "I'm not finished yet. You should listen to them for now." I just cause Mary to look more puzzled than before.

"Do you know among all of things, what is the most dangerous out there?" I ask her. Mary shakes her head. "The answer is the Demon King. He's an evil lord who rule over all the monster in this land and wreak havoc everywhere!" I tell her in a dramatic tone.

She then gasps dramatically too. "That's horrible!" She says. I nod at her response. "Yes indeed. So how about a promise?" I say. Mary tilts her head in confusion. "A promise?" "Yeah. I promise to put an end to the Demon King reign, so then when you're old enough to go adventuring, the world is a much safer place that your mother did not need to worry. And for that, I want you to promise to listen to your mother and be a good girl while I fight this Demon King. What do you say?" She thought for a moment, perhaps to understand what I am proposing.

After a moment, she nods and bring up her pinky finger. "Pinky promise?"

I smile and bring up my own pinky finger and lock it with hers. "Pinky promise. Now how about we get you into your bed?"

End note: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Feel free to leave any comments, likes and suggestions.