Afterward, the children continued to frolic around the old uncle for a while longer, before quickly wrapping up storytime.
There was no helping it—the three good kids were all early sleepers. Once one yawned, the other two would yawn right after.
So when the time came, they would head back to their rooms on their own to sleep soundly.
After the Kamisato siblings left, little Eula looked at the old uncle lying on the floor.
"Old Uncle, when did you wake up?"
When she had lifted the old uncle's head earlier, little Eula noticed that his faint snoring had stopped.
"Hmm... Probably around the part where you were performing as the storyteller and did your impression of Cloud Retainer."
There was no helping it—when little Eula was demonstrating the storyteller, her voice inevitably got a bit louder. The old uncle found the tatami mat too hard and not particularly comfortable, so he naturally woke up.
Then, seeing that the three little ones were having so much fun, he thought it would be inconvenient to interrupt them, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended to keep sleeping.
In any case, lying there felt quite enjoyable. The innocence and beauty of children were the very reason the old uncle had saved the world.
"Would you like some snacks? I baked an extra portion."
Little Eula tidied her hair, tucking the slightly messy strands behind her ears.
"Sure, I'm actually a bit hungry myself."
The old uncle didn't stand on ceremony and took the small bread that little Eula had baked, biting into it right away.
Little Eula then sat down beside the old uncle.
And the cat Kirara came over too, curling up and lying across the old uncle's lap.
Normally, cats are nocturnal little creatures full of energy at night, but because she followed the old uncle's schedule, Kirara's routine had become completely aligned with human hours.
"Your Majesty~"
Faced with Kirara's usual fox-like chatter, the old uncle had grown accustomed to it as part of his daily life. He broke off a piece of the small bread and handed it to the cat.
"Kirara, you should really learn to meow like 'nyan-nyan'... It'd sound cuter if you acted like one of those whimpering little things."
"The Great Chu rises, Chen Sheng becomes king~"
Kirara, as always, refused to change her ways.
She carried the hopes of all foxes on her shoulders! How could she possibly meow weakly like those soft city cats?
"Good grief..."
The old uncle finished eating the small bread and began gently stroking Kirara's fur.
"By the way, Eula, what kind of person do you think I am?"
"Hmm..."
Many words came to little Eula's mind: gentle, kind, decisive, calm yet fond of acting boisterous, mature yet somewhat childish...
But looking at the old uncle gazing at the moon under the moonlight, she felt those words somehow didn't quite fit.
"I guess... you're a good person?"
"Heh~ A good person. I like that title. But if you were to describe me with a scene from nature, Eula, what would you say?"
Little Eula thought for a moment and quickly gave her answer.
"Hmm... It feels like you're an ancient tree standing in the middle of a forest, with thick, lush branches and leaves. When the sun shines, lots of little animals make their homes in the tree—little squirrels, little cats, little birds... In short, it's very lively."
Then little Eula recalled how the old uncle had looked when facing wandering samurai and, just earlier, when dealing with Inazuma's higher-ups.
"But sometimes, mist rises in the forest, and the little animals hide away. Then the ancient tree reveals a terrifying side, scaring off every bad guy who dares enter the forest..."
The old uncle spread his arms wide and took a deep breath, feeling that tonight was unusually cool and refreshing.
"That's not bad at all. I like that metaphor, Eula."
"But it's getting late now, little Eula. Time for bed. Good children should remember to sleep early and wake early, you know."