A Bug In Fate

Alden landed lightly on the street with the orange cat hanging comfortably from one hand.

The children froze.

Their mouths slowly fell open as they stared at him in disbelief.

"...He caught it."

"He actually caught it!"

For a brief moment, none of them moved.

Then—

"Waaah!"

"Big brother is amazing!"

The children rushed toward him, surrounding him from every side.

The orange cat, meanwhile, had already given up struggling. It simply stared at Alden with half-lidded eyes before lazily flicking its tail.

"Meow."

One of the little girls excitedly pointed toward the end of the street.

"Big brother! Grandma’s flower shop is over there!"

Alden was about to hand the cat over to the children when an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

His gaze followed the direction the girl was pointing. Even from this distance, he could make out a small flower shop at the end of the street.

A smile slowly spread across his face.

"...Perfect."

Without another word, he started walking toward it with the cat still in his hand.

The people back at the food stall watched the scene with amused expressions. It wasn’t something they got to witness every day.

"He’s a kind person."

The young man who had teased the woman earlier smiled as he watched Alden leave.

"Yeah."

The woman nodded while taking another bite of her skewer.

"He didn’t even hesitate."

Fortunately for them, they hadn’t seen Alden calmly fighting a pack of Morkels earlier.

Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have known what to think of the young man.

A few moments later, Alden arrived before the flower shop.

An elderly woman was quietly arranging fresh flowers on display.

Before Alden could even greet her—

"My cat!"

The flowers slipped from her hands and scattered across the ground.

Her eyes remained fixed on the orange cat in Alden’s arms.

"Hello."

Alden greeted her with a smile.

"I found it wandering around the streets."

He pointed behind him.

"The children helped me find where you were."

The old woman glanced toward the group of children in the distance before turning back to Alden.

Tears of relief nearly welled up in her eyes.

"Thank you so much, young man."

"I don’t know how I can ever repay you."

"Oh, don’t worry."

Alden smiled mysteriously.

"I actually have an idea."

The old woman blinked.

"Oh?"

"If it’s money, I can probably manage twenty silver coins."

She turned, preparing to go inside.

Alden quickly waved his hands.

"Haha, no, no."

"Just wait here for a couple of minutes."

"I’ll be right back."

Before the old woman could ask where he was going, Alden had already sprinted down the street.

***

Barely two minutes later, Alden returned.

This time, a folded parchment rested in his hand.

The old woman looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to come back so quickly, nor did she understand where he had gone.

Alden stopped in front of her and unfolded the parchment with a smile.

"Could you sign here?"

He held out the mission paper from the Adventurers’ Guild.

"Oh..."

The old woman’s eyes widened in realization before a gentle smile spread across her face.

"So you’re an adventurer."

She accepted the paper, pulled a pen from beneath the counter, and carefully signed her name before handing it back.

"Yes," Alden replied as he tucked the completed mission paper safely into his pocket. "I just became one today."

"Haha... such a young spirit."

The old woman smiled warmly before reaching into a small wooden box beside the counter. She took out a handful of silver coins and held them toward him.

"Please, at least accept this. It’s the least I can do."

Alden shook his head with a smile.

"I’ve already got my reward."

His gaze wandered across the colorful flowers decorating the small shop before stopping on a delicate bloom with soft blue petals swaying gently in the breeze.

"If you don’t mind..."

He carefully plucked the little blue flower and held it between his fingers.

"I’ll take this instead."

For a moment, the old woman simply stared at him.

Then she chuckled softly.

"Of course."

"You’ve earned far more than a single flower."

Alden smiled, thanked her with a small nod, and turned to leave.

"Thank you for bringing my cat home!"

The old woman’s grateful voice followed him down the street.

Without looking back, Alden simply raised a hand and waved.

The blue flower rested gently between his fingers as he walked away, a faint smile lingering on his face.

A few moments later, he returned to the food stall where he had originally planned to buy his skewers, as though nothing unusual had happened at all.

***

The people at the food stall, however, couldn’t pretend they hadn’t witnessed everything.

The shopkeeper couple watched Alden approach with warm smiles on their faces. Since barely ten minutes had passed, most of the customers were still there as well. They all looked at him with amused expressions, having watched the entire chase from beginning to end.

Being the center of attention wasn’t something Alden particularly enjoyed.

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly but continued walking toward the stall. No matter how embarrassed he felt, he wasn’t about to give up on those skewers.

As he reached the stall, his gaze fell on the little girl who had been the first to recognize the orange cat.

Without saying anything else, Alden held out the small blue flower in his hand.

"Here."

"It’s a thank-you gift."

The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she carefully accepted the flower.

"Hehe... Big brother is so cool!"

She hugged the flower to her chest before excitedly jumping around, pretending to leap onto rooftops just like Alden had done moments earlier.

"I’ll catch the kitty too!"

Her adorable imitation immediately drew laughter from everyone nearby.

Even Alden couldn’t help smiling.

At that moment, the shopkeeper’s wife walked over with a plate in her hands.

"Here are your skewers."

"Thank you."

Alden accepted them with a grateful nod.

Before he could take his first bite, the woman who had been eating skewers earlier gave him a thumbs-up.

"You were amazing back there."

Her husband burst into laughter beside her.

"Haha! I honestly thought you were about to embarrass yourself climbing onto that roof."

"But that was far more entertaining than I expected."

Alden could only smile helplessly.

"It was nothing."

Not wanting to become the center of another conversation, he quietly walked to one side of the stall and enjoyed his meal in peace.

The skewers were simple, but after everything that had happened today, they somehow tasted especially good.

Once he finished eating, Alden returned to the stall and reached into his pouch for a few silver coins.

Just as he was about to hand them over—

"Haha, that’s not necessary."

The shopkeeper waved both hands with a broad grin.

"Because of you, everyone here had a good laugh today."

"So today’s meal is on us."

His wife nodded in agreement.

"Just promise you’ll visit our stall again."

Alden looked at the smiling couple for a moment before a grateful smile appeared on his own face.

"Then... thank you."

"I’ll definitely come back."

After giving them one last nod, Alden tucked the silver coins back into his pouch and continued down the lively street, leaving behind a food stall still filled with cheerful laughter.