Unexpected Promotion and a Quiet Dinner

Ming Yu was more accustomed to Eastern cuisine, which primarily featured rice and noodles, but she wasn’t sure if Nightingale would adapt to her taste.

She decided to try it first. If little Nightingale didn’t like it, then she would simply learn Western cuisine herself.

Before long, as several simple dishes were brought to the table, a mouth-watering aroma filled the entire room.

After tidying up, Ming Yu was about to head to the bedroom to invite little Nightingale for dinner when her personal communication device suddenly chimed.

She retrieved a small, elegant communication device from her pocket, clipped it behind her right ear, and lightly tapped its smooth edge twice to answer the incoming call.

A cold, electronic voice emanated from the device.

“Good evening, esteemed A-rank Hunter, Mister Ming Yu.”

“You and your team have successfully completed the commission, annihilating the S-rank sea beast—the mutated sea serpent ‘Jörmungandr.’ Congratulations.”

“Following a discussion among the association’s high-ranking officials, the council has approved your promotion. You are to be elevated to become the 326th S-rank Hunter in the 187 years since the association’s founding. An award ceremony will be held in three days.”

“We hope you will be present to attend.”

“This concludes our message. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to call us.”

“Goodbye.”

“Beep… beep…”

The synthesized electronic voice ceased, replaced by the persistent beeping of the device on standby.

Ming Yu removed the communication device, the cold, mechanical voice still echoing in her ears. She frowned slightly.

‘It was a call from the Hunter Association.’

Generally, calls from them either detailed mission objectives or used threats and inducements to urge hunters out to sea, often to their demise.

Ming Yu had already prepared the necessary documents concerning her genetic illness, intending to feign sickness and retire from active duty with the next mission notification. She had never expected a call from the association unrelated to a mission.

‘So, she had been… promoted?’

‘Well, whether she was promoted or not, she didn’t particularly care.’

After all, Ming Yu no longer wanted to continue, and her physical condition wouldn’t allow her to do so anyway.

‘As for the award ceremony…’

Ming Yu lowered her head, surveying her current appearance, and a bitter smile touched the corner of her lips.

‘Who would believe that an S-rank sea beast hunter could look like such a frail woman?’

Ming Yu herself hadn’t anticipated that her body would undergo such a drastic transformation within mere hours while she was unconscious. Now, even her closest colleagues would never recognize her.

****

Entering the bedroom, Ming Yu saw the docile girl huddled in the corner. She offered a faint smile and slowly approached.

‘She couldn’t hold on for many more years.’

Before she departed this world, Ming Yu had to raise little Nightingale to adulthood. This would fulfill both Viktor’s last wish and her own.

She knelt once more. The moment her hand touched the girl’s small one, it was hastily pulled away.

Gazing calmly at Nightingale’s dull, blue eyes, Ming Yu cleared her throat and spoke softly:

“Little Nightingale, if you can hear me, nod your head.”

“…”

Still, there was no reaction.

It was clear that little Nightingale was very resistant to communicating with her.

This left Ming Yu feeling a little troubled.

‘She needed to find a way…’

“Ahem, let’s try that again… Little Nightingale, if you can hear me, nod your head; if you can’t, shake your head.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nightingale’s small head began to sway slightly from side to side.

‘Oh, so she couldn’t hear her after all.’

Ming Yu’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“Ahem, little Nightingale, you might think I’m a bad person, but I still have to say… you’re right, I am a bad person.”

As she spoke, she extended her arms, supporting the girl’s back and the crook of her knees, lifting her directly from the floor and walking straight toward the dining table.

Upon reaching the table, Ming Yu sat down first, then settled the girl onto her lap.

Throughout the process, Nightingale clearly struggled, but her movements were not forceful.

‘It seemed little Nightingale wanted her to be more proactive.’

Ming Yu leaned her face close to Nightingale’s ear, parted her red lips, and whispered softly:

“Dinner is served…”

Ming Yu’s warm breath brushed against the edge of Nightingale’s ear, causing her earlobes to flush red. Feeling a little flustered, Nightingale even ceased her struggles.

Just as Ming Yu had surmised, Nightingale couldn’t see anything at all right now.

Her once vibrant world was now utterly dark.

She could feel the “bad person” holding her, placing two slender objects into her hand.

“Little Nightingale, the things in your hand are called chopsticks. I don’t know if you’ve used them before… but it doesn’t matter if you haven’t; I can teach you.”

“I’ll teach you how to pick up food with them.”

Ming Yu held Nightingale’s hand, adjusting the positions of her index and middle fingers. Then, she guided her to separate the chopsticks, reach for a thin slice of tomato on the plate, clamp down firmly, and slowly lift it.

After two attempts, Ming Yu discovered that Nightingale’s learning ability was remarkably strong; she quickly grasped the knack of using chopsticks.

Ming Yu found Nightingale’s hand to be very steady.

Nightingale, meanwhile, found Ming Yu’s hand to be very soft.

The gentle, soft palm enveloped her small hand tightly, making it feel somewhat warm.

From the moment Ming Yu had taken her away, Nightingale had felt that this person was different from Aunt Misha and Uncle Exxon.

Aunt Misha was her father’s friend, and Ming Yu also claimed to be her father’s friend.

Perhaps due to her recent suffering, Nightingale found herself missing her father, who had been traveling for years with no news.

Uncle Exxon had sent her to an unfamiliar place where she had been treated roughly. She didn’t know how to react and could only tremble as she listened to Lina’s cries.

If Ming Yu hadn’t taken her away, perhaps what had happened to Lina would have happened to her as well.

As the initial awkwardness of their first meeting faded, Nightingale began to feel that Ming Yu wasn’t a bad person, and she quietly shed a layer of her inner resistance.

‘As for the evidence that Ming Yu wasn’t a bad person…’

Following Ming Yu’s movements, Nightingale brought the slice to her mouth. A sweet sensation immediately flooded her palate, and a wave of contentment washed over her.

‘Delicious.’

Aunt Misha and Uncle Exxon had always given the good food to Lina, while the strange, rude man had frequently left her hungry.

The thought of those people filled Nightingale with a sense of injustice and gloom, and she silently marked them with a big red ‘X’ in her mind.

Before this, only her father would ask her what she wanted to eat.

Now, Ming Yu did too.

Nightingale unconsciously relaxed her tense body, leaning into the soft, fragrant embrace and silently absorbing Ming Yu’s warmth.

“Little Nightingale, try this one too.”

Ming Yu didn’t notice Nightingale’s emotional shift, simply assuming the girl was so compliant because she was incredibly hungry.

However, for a girl in her developmental stage, eating well and not being picky was an important matter.

Thanks to Ming Yu’s efforts, a good portion of the dishes on the table found their way into Nightingale’s stomach.

For a child her age to eat so much, it truly seemed she had been starving.

“Little Nightingale, try something else. Here, how does this taste?”

“…I like it.”

“Really?” Ming Yu’s eyes brightened.

This was the first time Nightingale had responded to her questions.

“Ming…”

Nightingale paused, hesitating for a moment before her pursed lips parted slightly.

“Ming Yu… Jie-jie?” (TL notes: The term “Jie-jie”is a Chinese term for “older sister”)

Although the term “Jie-jie” was rather jarring, making the corner of her mouth twitch, Ming Yu chose to selectively ignore the address and smiled warmly.

“What is it?”

“You eat too…”