Oliver soon came rushing back, clutching two loaves of white bread in his hands. Noel rarely saw white bread, and there were hardly any families on this street that could afford to eat it daily.
As for him, he had never even tasted white bread before. On most days, having black bread was already a blessing, so how could he dare to hope for white bread?
"Oliver, isn't this a bit wasteful? Do we really need to eat white bread?"
Emotions surged in Noel's chest, unsure if it was blame or gratitude.
"This is your reward for that performance just now, you know? Do you have any idea how much that young lady gave us? A whole ten copper coins! With that kind of money, we deserve a good meal for once." Oliver thought Noel was angry and hurried to flatter him.
Noel wasn't truly angry, just felt it was a bit wasteful. One loaf of white bread could buy five loaves of black bread, nearly enough to last them two days.
"Looks like the plan really works." Noel sighed with emotion.
"But I, Noel, would rather starve, be crushed under a carriage in the street, than eat white bread! Take it back!" Noel declared firmly.
But beside him, Oliver had already taken a big bite of the bread. "It tastes amazing!"
Watching Oliver eat so happily, Noel began to hesitate. His will might be iron, but his stomach was not.
Noel took the bread from Oliver and bit into it. "It's so good."
Seeing Noel eating with such joy, Oliver began to dream aloud.
"As long as we work together, eating our fill every day isn't just a dream." Oliver said confidently.
But neither of them knew that at that very moment, someone was watching Noel closely. The man's sunken eyes stared intently, scanning him up and down repeatedly.
The old man's eyes grew wet, turning red. That blond hair, those deep blue eyes—it was exactly the same as his son's.
Even though the boy's clothes were ragged and torn, there was a natural dignity about him.
The man wanted to rush forward, to touch the boy's face, but reason held him back. This child was not his son. His son had died decades ago.
The boy before him was nothing more than a phantom his mind had conjured. It wasn't that he truly cared for this child.
It was simply that he saw this child as a substitute. He wasn't a bad person, but once personal emotions became involved, everything became muddled.
But here was an opportunity—an opportunity to give someone the fatherly love he had once failed to give, a chance to atone for his past.
Could he truly remain unmoved? He tried to tell himself he was not a good person, not a qualified father, and had no right to try to reclaim what he had lost.
But was running away truly the right choice? Looking back at his life, he had always run away for the sake of his alchemy research, losing love and family along the way.
Was this what he truly wanted? After devoting most of his life to research, what was he really after? He didn't know. He didn't know why he was making such foolish choices.
Mond Manchester—summon your courage. You've missed so much already, you fool. Even if the heavens have placed him before you, can you truly turn away?
Author notes: Who is Mond Manchester?
Mond Manchester is not from the original Fairy Tail series. He is an original character in this story: an old man who sees Noel as a reminder of his dead son and wants to take care of him to make up for past mistakes. Although he seems dangerous, he means no harm to Noel and may become an important figure in Noel's life later.
He stepped forward toward Noel.
Noel looked up, confused, unguarded, as the man suddenly stood before him. But he wasn't particularly wary.
He assumed the old man just felt sorry for them and wanted to give them some alms. There were many kind old people like that, and there was no need to be tense.
Still, if the old man gave too much, Noel and Oliver had a rule: they would only accept one coin each. That was their rule.
Old people still needed to live, and the kinder they were, the more impulsive they could be. If they gave away all their living expenses, it would weigh heavily on Noel's and Oliver's consciences.
"Um… sir, can we help you with something?" Noel asked politely.
His soft, youthful voice reached Mond's ears, sounding just like his son's. Overcome with emotion, Mond knelt down.
"Child, would you come with me?" A tear slipped down his cheek. "Please, give me one more chance… come with me."
What was this? An invitation? Why would he invite him? Did he see something in Noel that others didn't?
"I'm sorry, sir. Even if you say that, I can't just agree like this. I don't even know what's going on," Noel replied firmly.
"Child, I won't hurt you. Maybe I was too emotional just now, but I really don't mean any harm." Mond stammered like a child caught in the wrong, explaining in a fluster.
Their eyes met, and Noel could see in the man's gaze that he meant no harm. But even so, that wasn't a reason to follow him.
"What do you think you're doing? Can't you see you're making Noel uncomfortable? If you keep bothering him, I'll—"
Oliver suddenly went speechless. He realized he had no threat that could scare this man.
"And you are?" Mond glanced at Oliver, only now noticing him because he had been so focused on Noel.
"You don't know? I'm Noel's best friend, Oliver!" Oliver puffed up proudly.
"You're this child's best friend?" Mond found it hard to believe. Was it really possible to form true friendships in a place like this?
He had heard stories of what the slums were like—ruled by the law of the jungle, where the strong preyed on the weak. He knew how hard it was to find pure, genuine feelings in such a place.
"Of course! The bond between Noel and me isn't something outsiders can break. We're brothers who've faced life and death together." Oliver pounded his chest, "So if you want to hurt Noel, you'll have to get through me first!"
"Really?" Suddenly, the old man's eyes grew sharp, the air around them tightening, a faint murderous aura filling the space, making it hard to breathe.
"What do you think you're doing?" Oliver spread his arms to shield Noel. "I said, if you want to hurt Noel, you'll have to get through me first!"
The man's gaze softened, and the air around them seemed to flow again. "That was just a small test. Don't mind it."
But Oliver knew that in that moment, he had felt the presence of death—one wrong move, and they would have been sent straight to hell.
"So, what exactly do you want? Can we talk about this properly?" Noel proposed calmly.
Noel knew that the man was probably not a good person. The murderous aura he had felt earlier made that clear. But the warmth in his gaze didn't seem fake either.
It was all so confusing. Why would someone like this seek him out? Was this the bad luck that always followed a moment of good fortune?
Noel took out the white bread and began eating it. After all, he had never eaten white bread before. If things went badly in this conversation, at least he would have tasted something delicious before dying. That was enough for him.
It was so satisfying. His world was so small right now, and just being able to eat white bread made him truly happy.
"Are you hungry?" Mond asked.
"Of course I am. We barely get enough to eat each day. Just now, a kind young lady gave us a lot, so we managed to buy white bread," Noel explained patiently.
"How about we go to a restaurant and talk over a proper meal?" Mond offered.
A restaurant? For them, that was a luxury they couldn't even imagine, and they didn't want to know what a restaurant was like either.
The main reason was simple: it was too expensive. They could never afford it.
"I'm sorry, but we can't go." Oliver refused firmly. "We still need to keep begging today. Please don't interfere with our work. And even if we wanted to eat at a restaurant, we couldn't afford it."
"It's alright, I can treat you. If you don't want to go, that's fine, but I only want to speak with this child." Mond reached out and patted Noel's head.
Noel tried to dodge, but somehow he couldn't avoid the large hand. Still, he didn't dislike the feeling. It was warm and reassuring.
Author's note: Who is Mond Manchester?
Mond Manchester is not from the original Fairy Tail series. He is an original character in this story: an old man who sees Noel as a reminder of his dead son and wants to take care of him to make up for past mistakes. Although he seems dangerous, he means no harm to Noel and may become an important figure in Noel's life later.