Pail stared at the wooden spoon in front of his mouth, filled with warm corn soup. He took a small bite, slowly forcing himself to eat, even though he was too nauseous to find any enjoyment in the act. He was slowly but surely getting better, and today was the first time he had managed to keep his food down in days. He wasn’t hungry, not in the slightest, but he still kept eating. The praise he got after each bite was worth the nausea.

  “Good job.” Norman dipped the spoon into the warm bowl of soup, making sure to scoop up plenty of meat and corn before bringing it back up to the boy’s lips. “Just one more, then I won’t ask you to eat any more.” He assured him. It wasn’t like he enjoyed force feeding a sickly child, but Pail would never get better if he didn’t eat. “Rowboat and Primrose miss you, you know. So you have to eat a lot and get better.”

  Pail forced down the last spoonfull of soup and laid back down in bed. He missed Aunty and Prim, too. He hadn’t seen them in days, but Papa had told him that he needed to be healthy to meet them again or else they’d get sick too. “I’m sorry for getting sick and makin’ it so we can’t go to town.”

  “That is nothing to apologize for. You didn’t choose to be sick.” Norman awkwardly patted his head in an attempt to be assuring. He would make sure to study how to comfort children later. “We don’t have any plans, so you can take your time getting better. We’ll figure out what we’re going to do next when you feel well enough to ride in the carriage.”

  Despite the awkward pats and flat delivery, Pail was comforted by the gesture. Actually, he found Norman’s entire demeanor comfortable. He never shouted or did anything unpredictable. No matter what he did or what was going on, his Papa was always stern but kind. The predictability did wonders to calm the heart of a boy who spent the majority of his life tiptoeing around irritable adults.

  “Are we gonna get a house in the town? A real one that’s not an inn?” A house was Pail’s idea of luxury, an impossible dream that he wouldn’t even dare wish for when he was working with the other children. Now, though, he allowed himself to dream about things. He had managed to get a family; wasn’t a house reasonable, too?

  “No,” Norman responded bluntly, staring at the boy’s shocked expression for a second before realizing that he probably needed more of an explanation than that. “The ideal place for a home would be the capital, wherever that is. The house would have to be walking distance from both my future employer and your and Primrose’s schools.” He prattled on while Pail just nodded and pretended he understood. “You can’t just buy a house, you see. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  The boy’s eyes sparkled as Norman kept talking about loans and property value. Was he really going to be attending a school? A real one? Those things were expensive. The enrollment fees were far too expensive for any peasant to afford. No, school was reserved for nobles and the children of rich merchants. The thought of getting to wear one of those fancy uniforms almost made him forget about how nauseous he was.

  “-Not to mention the documents needed to even start looking for a house. None of us are registered with any government, if that even is a thing over here. A proper town probably has some sort of government office where we can get ourselves official identification.”

  “What’s an idendrification?”

  “Identfication. It’s what proves you are a citizen of the place you live in. It’s needed for many things like buying a house, proving familial ties, and finding employment.” Norman had no idea if it worked the same way in Silvae. In Isekai novels, the main character can just buy a mansion and become a magic instructor at a royal academy without any sort of background check or identification. But this was real life, not a fantasy novel.

  “So if I get one, then it’ll say you’re my real papa?”

  “Well, yes. If it works the same over here as it does in my homeland, then you would be registered under my last name…” Norman went into another long speech about words Pail didn’t understand. He had stopped listening as soon as he was told that this identification thing would make them a real family. If that was the case, then he couldn’t wait to get one.

  A few more days passed, and Pail was well enough to walk around and go through the day without sleeping. After he confirmed that he felt good enough to ride on the carriage, the group quickly prepared for departure. The inn where they had been staying was only half a day away from the town of Swaan. It was a rest stop for hunters and adventurers who mismanaged their time and wouldn’t make it back before the gates of the town closed.

  The horses had been idle for the duration of their visit, and they were raring to go. The carriage quickly picked up speed, and they soon found a steady rhythm as they traveled to Swaan. Primrose, who hadn’t seen her brother in a week, clung tightly to his shirt and wouldn’t let go no matter what anyone tried. Pail didn’t mind too much, though. He had missed her too.

  “I ain’t dying or nothing, ya know. I’m all better now, see?” Pail moved his arms around in an attempt to show that he wasn’t deathly ill, but Primrose wasn’t buying it. She stayed firmly attached to his side until the allure of food finally shifted her attention away from the death grip she had on the fabric.

  Pail sat cross legged at the end of the carriage, watching as the scenery grew smaller the further they traveled. The wind tousled his hair pleasantly as he ate the sandwiches they had bought from the inn. He was still sick, but he felt more at peace than he ever had. He wore clean clothes, he was eating food he didn’t have to scavenge for, and he didn’t have to constantly hide. His family was behind him, talking and eating their own food while the horses trotted steadily in front. He was afraid to think of them as his family, just in case this was all a dream that he would wake up from. He knew that this wasn’t a dream, though. His head wouldn’t hurt if it was.

  Pail was here. He was sitting in the carriage drawn by Quick and Baby. Behind him were his aunt Rowboat, his little sister Primrose, and his father Norman.