At long last the lecture was over and it was finally time for lunch. I was about to walk out carefree when I felt someone grab onto the back of my coat.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she said. "But I don't know my way around here. Could you perhaps lead me to the cafeteria?"

I honestly wanted to say no because I did not want to be associated with her. It was clear that I was not old enough to be her father and as such I did not want to know what kind of rumors would be floating around me if I spent too much time hanging out with her.

I opened my mouth to tell her to shoo but then...

...she looked so eager that I didn't feel like at that moment I could say no.

As such I went to the cafeteria, sat down at a table, and I was about to ask her what she would like to order when she unexpectedly took something out of her backpack.

At that moment, I had to try hard to control my laughter. She gave me a questioning look before she started to pout when she realized that I was laughing at her.

"What seems to be so amusing?"

"Ah, nothing. It's just your lunchbox," I said. She looked like such a prim and proper young lady that she could have almost passed for a miniature adult- until I saw the lunchbox. It was the kind a little kid would have in elementary school. It had the picture of a blonde girl with white wings- probably a character from a 'magical girl' anime or something similar. (In case you're wondering, I used to have a Kamen Rider lunchbox back in elementary school. I think my parents probably still have it somewhere in their garage assuming they haven't thrown it out.)

Basically, it reminded me that she was an actual kid rather than some miniature corporate suit.

"Oh yeah? What's wrong with my lunchbox?" she asked defensively.

"Nothing. I mean- that lunchbox it just, well, it reminded me that you were still a kid and not some android programmed to be a lawyer." In response to that she huffed and glared at me angrily again, but with her small stature it was impossible to take her seriously.

"And now what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I don't mean anything wrong by it. You are a kid after all," I told her. "I just mean that you know- it's nice to see that you're enjoying things kids should." I actually meant what I said.

While it was impressive that she had gotten so far at so young an age- a part of me honestly felt sorry for her. Her parents were pushing her into this role far earlier than what was normal. Did she even have any friends her own age? It almost seemed like child abuse to me- stripping someone of the joys of their childhood so they had to bear responsibility at an early age. It kind of reminded me of how my young brother had been before I had turned him around except ten times more extreme.

But- it looked like she came from a wealthy family so there was probably no need for her to start working so soon. So what was it that motivated her family?

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you going to law school so early instead of... y'know, normal school?"

"Oh," she said. "My mother doesn't want me wasting time in school. She says that one day I have to take over our family's law firm. I need to keep studying, so rather than wasting time she wanted me to do something worthwhile here."

"So, you want to practice law here in Japan?"

"Yes," she said. "Ultimately, that's what I want to do. So I figured it would be best to spend some time in a college here."

"Alright. Anyway, if you want to ditch your lunch- I'm willing to order you something if you want. Consider it my treat for your first day."

"No thank you," she said. She opened her lunchbox, and then seemed to want to hide it as she realized that I would probably make fun of her for her lunch- but it was too late.

"Quite an adorable bento your mother made for you," I teased. It really was quite adorable- the rice had been squeezed into a neat row, and mashed potatoes in the shape of teddy bears had been placed carefully on the side. Ketchup had been placed on their faces to make it look like they were smiling. She also had chicken nuggets in the shape of various animals- and to cap it all off she had an apple juice box.

Truly a meal fitting for a king. If the king was a little girl, that is.

"Actually, my father made this for me," she corrected.

"Oh? Is he a househusband?"

"No, he works too, but he makes me lunch every day!" she said excitedly. "Or almost every day..." She seemed to think I was going to tease her further as she let this slip, but I'd had my fun. Honestly, I had no desire to rain on her parade.

"Well, if you need anything, you can always ask."

"I appreciate it," she said.

Around me, the other college kids were certainly giving me strange looks. I think that despite how young I looked some people did actually think that I was her father or something.

Well, it was better than them thinking the other thing.

I didn't have any more classes with Melty, so the rest of the day proceeded as normal and I didn't see her again.

There was nothing to do the rest of the day, given that Raphtalia and I wouldn't be meeting up until the next day, but I worked on setting up things for our next stream anyway.

That only lasted about twenty minutes however and I found myself studying the rest of the afternoon- I guess I just didn't want to be outdone by a small kid, strange as a motivation that might be.