"Ahh..."
Age was troubled.
He was talking to a beastman client for the sake of his son.
That part wasn't a problem.
The deal hadn't been finalized yet, but the beastman seemed reasonable, so Age believed things would likely go smoothly.
So, until she arrived, he just needed to carry on with his usual work.
However...
Staaare...
"Oof."
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on Age from the corner of the forge.
They belonged to Aisha and Snow.
Whether they were interested in Age himself or in the blacksmithing, they stared intently.
Yet they made no move to speak.
They simply watched from a set distance, doing nothing else.
"...What's going on?"
Age paused his work and called out to them.
"!?""Oof!?"
Aisha and Snow jumped in perfect sync, startled, and scurried deeper into the forge.
But they didn’t leave the forge entirely...
After a short while, they returned to their original spot and resumed observing Age.
What were they trying to do?
Age was confused...
After thinking for a bit, he decided to take a break.
He set down his tools and let the fire die down.
"Ahh... I’m going to take a little break. Want to have some snacks with me?"
"!!"
Aisha and Snow's eyes sparkled brightly.
――――――――――"Nom... munch, munch."
Aisha held a sweet bun in both hands and brought it to her mouth little by little.
She seemed to be taking bites faster than she could swallow, so her cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk’s.
Next to her, Snow was wagging her tail wildly while eating her bread.
She was wagging it so much that dust was getting kicked up into the air.
Age chuckled inwardly, thinking he’d have to clean that up later.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah… it’s tasty."
"On!"
The two of them looked genuinely happy.
He had won them over with food, but it seemed they'd opened up to him a little.
"Uh… mind if I call you Aisha?"
"...Yeah, that's fine."
"Thanks. Aisha, are you interested in my work?"
Aisha shook her head side to side.
"Then, are you interested in me?"
This time, she nodded.
"I see. You just wanted to talk or something like that?"
"Yeah… because you're Grandpa."
"Guh!"
The unexpected word “Grandpa” flew out of her mouth.
It struck deep into Age’s heart, stirring emotions he had never experienced before.
Joy, emotion, happiness—
A strange, warm feeling like all of them blended together.
What on earth was this...?
"Grandpa, you're like Daddy."
"Huh… oh? Uh… is that so?"
Snapping back to reality, Age reflexively asked her a follow-up.
"Yeah. You look alike."
"Well, we are father and son. What part of me looks like him?"
"The cool part."
"Gwah!"
His granddaughter had just called him cool.
Could there be a greater honor?
That thought crossed Age’s mind...
And he was already on the path to becoming a doting grandpa.
"You looked like Daddy, so I was curious… and I was watching. Sorry if I bothered you…"
"No, no, you weren’t bothering me at all."
"Really…?"
"Yeah. If you’re interested, you can watch me anytime. Or, like now, we can just chat too."
In fact, he wanted to talk even more.
He wanted to have all kinds of conversations.
Age was instantly captivated by Aisha.
There’s no one who can beat a grandchild.
That truth had just been proven.
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