Screw the Sage

First night together.

“Can you walk?” Screw asks the young Gura, who is sitting in front of him, as he places his cheek on his right hand.

She said emotionlessly, “Numb,” wearing a poker face.

He snatches Gura and carries her on his arm, saying, “Come up; I'll carry you.” She said, “Sticky.” The little lady was dragged by Screw to a lake not far away. After setting the small girl down, he doused her in water. The moment the water touched her body, she shuddered a bit. “Cold.”

He uses his own hooded cloth to dry her after washing her. To cast the spells [Clean]* and [Dry]*, he lifted his hand and snapped a finger.

[Casting spell: Failed]

As expected, he can't use his magic and cast it to people apart from himself. Even the most basic and necessary spells are prohibited for him to cast.

After picking up the little girl, he went to the forest with the intention of spending the night there beneath the huge tree he had just found. He doesn't frequently save his food; therefore, the child needed to be fed edible fruits or mushrooms, which he had to look for or uncover.

Gura nods in agreement as Screw tells her to “stay here for now,” adding, “Alyssa, scan the area.” Screw then leaps to the enormous tree trunk and sets the small girl down.

[Activating Skill: Eye map]

[Eye map scanning radius degraded to 100]

[System search: No edible foods]

[System suggest: Move to other location]

Before starting to move to a different place in quest of food, Screw read the message prompt. He looks for a while, then comes back with some fruit that is edible.

He leaps to the tree and hugs the little girl, saying, “I'm back, baby.” He was aware of this and braced for it, but he still desired a more emotional greeting from Gura, who only gave him a frigid glare.

[The System look at you pathetically]

[Loner]

‘Shut the flock up, Alyssa.’

-----

Night.

When nocturnal wild animals become increasingly active for the night hunt, Screw and Gura sit at the top of the tree, hiding. Gura receives a firm embrace from him so that she won't be as chilly during the night. He also observed that Gura was still awake. “You should be resting now... You can't sleep?”

Gura concentrated on the lenses on Screw. He patted Gura's head gently. “You don't need to be afraid; I'm here to protect you,” he said. She hums and nods. “Well, I see; this is your first night; you were born only a few hours ago.”

*Ding*

[System: Feral Beast spotted]

“Where?”

[Below us]

Screw command the system after viewing the system prompt. [Activate the Null skill]*.

The system followed the command, [Activating Null skill]

*Ding*

[System Null skill: Presence reduction]

*Ding*

[System Null skill: Failed to activate]

*Ding*

[System Null Skill: Attempt to reactivate]

*Ding*

[System: Null skill activated]

*Ding*

[System: Null Skill Presence degraded into Null Scent]

*Ding*

[System: Your scent reduced to 15%]

After reading the system prompt, Screw closed his eyes. ‘It's really challenging. Living alone is much easier and better. I can protect myself, but can I protect this child? That Gura has a flowery scent that the beast cannot detect or smell is fortunate.’

[You are not alone]

[Don't forget, I'm also here to assist you]

“Even raising this child?” Screw jokingly said.

[Even raising that child]

“What you're serious?”

[Yes]

“Then you'll be the girlfriend,” Screw decided proudly.

[The System mock at you]

[No one wants to be your girlfriend]

“Flock you Alyssa!”

“Then you'll be her grandma,” Screw smirk as he gave the system a new title.

[I love it]

[The System gives you a thumbs up for the first time]

“What?!”

While Screw and the system continued speaking, Gura abruptly muttered. The nightmare is getting worse, and she can feel the perspiration forming on her brow. Screw holds her firmly and commands the system in a worried voice, “Alyssa, check her body temperature.”

[System checking: Body Temperature Normal]

[System checking: Nightmare]

“That's good, she's not sick—” before he finished, Gyura suddenly moan. “Fa—”

“Fa?”

[Fa?]

Gura continued to moan in pain, “Fa— Fa—”

[She's definitely saying Father] the system said while monitoring Gura's heartbeat and temperature. Aaw, so sweet~

“Fa.”

“Say it…” Screw eyes focus on Guras little lips. “Just say it,“ He insisted while he was wiping her sweat. “Fuck you—.”

“…”

[…]

Screw questioned the system, “Did I hear it right? I can't believe what I heard.” The word responds "yes" when the pop-up prompt is examined. He still won't believe he heard a derogatory phrase come from Gura's little lips. “Is this how people who have nightmares behave?”

[System analyzing: Complete]

Curious, Screw asked, “What did you see? The result?”

[System thinks the cuss word are for you]

Behind the mask, Screw raised an eyebrow and punched his head with his pointing finger, wondering, “Why me? Did I do anything bad to her? I have no memory.”

[The System looks at you]

[You don't remember?]

Screw was thinking things over; he kept scratching his forehead. “Um, no... What did I do?”

[You peed on her yesterday]

Screw completely forgot what he accomplished prior to Gura's birth as he felt a chilly sweat forming on his back. He felt bad and deserved to be called out again as he studied the message prompt. “Not my fault after all; most of the plants require watering.”

[You wag your small front tail like a dog]

[The system smirk: He-he SMALL]

“Alyssa stop!”

Gura's nightmare continues until dawn.

-----

“Hello, whoever is behind the screen; as you can see, little Gura is still asleep, and because I am paralyzed, she won't wake up.”

“Thankfully, nothing happened during the course of the night.”

“Don't you think it seems like yesterday? When I was single, I was wild, youthful, and free. Ta-dah! This is Gura. After a lot of events, I am now this child's foster father.”

Gura rubbed her eyes and asked the mask man, “Who—who are you talking to?” before immediately reaching out and delicately stroking the beak of Screw's mask.

[Don't exaggerate your story]

[You've just met Gura yesterday]

Screw caressing Gura's cheeks, “Good morning, Gura; it's nothing; I'm just chatting with my readers.”

Both Gura and the system ask, “Readers?”

“Just ignore it, will you? Anyway, here, eat some fruits.” He gave Gura some fruits for breakfast and said, “After that, we will leave this place and go and find a place to settle.”

Gura eats the fruit, saying it is “wonderful,” and despite her lack of expression, you can still see that she is happy because the color of her cheeks changes to a pink hue.

Screw lifted Gura high and said, “Now listen here, Gura, I'm not your father.” He stared at Gura sincerely, weeping beneath the mask. After a minute of staring, Screw becomes impatient and rattles Gura's body.

“Hello? Are you there? I'm revealing critical information here— It's not bad to respond, right? R-I-G-H-T?”

“Hmm, 'kay”

[A dry and emotionless reply]

[As expected from Gura]

No one will ever be furious with her while she is emotionless. He's not sure if he'll cry or laugh. “You know, even though this story has a sluggish pace, I'll make sure that the character developments are wonderful. Gura's character will be awesome,” says Screw as he glances off into the distance.

[The System doesn't know what to do with you]

[The System felt sorry]

Gura also look at the space Screw looking at, “Readers…”

The girl, who was sitting nearby and watching them closely, got chills when Screw gave her a personal glance.