Faced with the brilliant radiance, Dante was almost cleansed off the face of the Earth. Greeting him was a young woman in her early twenties. She was moderate in height, with shoulder-length honey-colored hair and dark brown eyes, which were hidden behind the lenses of large, round glasses. Her modest figure was clad in respectable clothes, and over them she wore a long yellow apron, the signature uniform of the kindergarten she managed.
"And please, you have nothing to apologize for." She said. "We’re happy to have you at any time."
"Thanks for understanding," Dante said, then turned to look behind him. "I actually was planning to visit this weekend, but a certain someone was a bit too eager."
Boris had just come out of the van and was walking over, his back straight and his head held high. He saw Dante grin at him and almost flinched, but then his focus shifted to the young woman. As their eyes met, he could see hers glimmer as surprise overtook her expression.
"Mr. Marcov!" The excitement with which she called his name pierced straight into the big guy’s heart, turning him into a stone statue right away. Thankfully, he was able to snap out of it in time just as she approached him with the same radiant smile. Clearing his throat in a last-ditch effort to compose himself, Boris did his best to appear calm.
"Hi there, Ms. Yukimura. How have you been?"
"Great!" She said. "It’s been so long! I’m glad to see you’re still in good health, Mr. Marcov."
"Please, call me Boris."
Still grinning, Dante watched as his big friend turned red bit by bit. The scene was heartwarming, even if the difference in size between the two was comical. Dante knew that he would have to step in soon and save his big friend before he exploded, so after letting him bask in the pure smile of the manager, he sent him a message saying to get his act together.
"Ah, right," Clearing his throat once more, Boris turned to the van. "There is someone I would like to introduce..."
A young boy was walking beside the van, clutching the strap of the gym bag slung over his shoulder. He froze the moment all eyes fell on him, his head lowered and his back hunched as if he had been sneaking around.
"Finn! Come over here and introduce yourself."
Though they caught him in the act, Boris proceeded, pretending not to have noticed. Dante wasn’t so forgiving, however. He fixed the boy with a glare then asked Volcan to relay a message to his NIM and watched the colors drain from his face. A second later, he walked over with hurried steps and bowed his head slightly.
"H-hello. I’m Finn Ward..."
A moment of silence followed the boy’s introduction, likely caused by the young woman noticing the cables connected to his neck. Her smile dimmed a little, and though she tried to compose herself, the change was so apparent that Boris started to panic.
"Finn here is a genius when it comes to computers and technology! His late father did everything he could to ensure the boy could use his gift freely!"
Dante wanted to facepalm himself. What should have been a positive explanation only caused the young woman to become gloomier. However, she was quick to notice that her mood had taken a turn for the worse and once again did her best to recover.
"Nice to meet you, Finn." She said. "I’m Yukimura Nana."
"N-nice to meet you."
Grimacing, Dante sent the boy a message telling him to put his hood on. Not doing so earlier was a mistake he now regretted deeply. Thankfully, they still had a way to salvage the situation.
Trying to divert their attention from the disaster, Dante walked toward the van.
"You might not believe this, Ms. Yukimura, but Boris here found all the stuff we discussed last time,"
"Come see for yourself."
Nana gave Finn a look of concern and opened her mouth to say something. The words seemed to betray her, however, and she cast her gaze down before moving away. Dante watched her from the corner of his eye while grabbing one of the crates stacked in the back of the van. Removing the lid, he checked the contents then put on a smile and grabbed one of the items.
It was a small tablet device, the size of a notebook. The shell was dark gray, and the smooth screen reflected the bright sky far above them. Dante pressed one of the buttons on the side and turned the device on, waiting till it booted before handing it over to the young woman with the yellow apron.
"All of these have been refurbished and are ready for use. We will try and get some cute cases for them next time."
Nana took the tablet and stared at it for a moment. Right away, her eyes seemed to regain their glimmer and she drew in a shaky breath, overcome with emotion.
"Finn over there will help you set them up," Dante said. "We’ve also got a few whiteboards and markers, some picture books, and a few other things for the little ones to play with."
"Dante, I... I don’t know what to say..." She turned to him, seemingly on the verge of tears. "Thank you. Thank you very much. This is... this is more than I ever expected..."
"If you want to thank anyone, then you should be thanking Boris." Dante turned to his big-bellied friend. "He’s the resourceful one here. All I did was send him a text and he was able to arrange everything in a single day."
"C’mon, Dante, no need to exaggerate." Said Boris, barely able to keep a stupid grin from taking over his face. "I just kept an eye out for such things after our last visit."
"Mr. Marcov." Hugging the tablet device to her chest, Nana faced the big guy, flashed him a wide smile, then bowed deeply. "Thank you ever so much, Mr. Marcov! Your presents will be a great boon for our school! I don’t know how I will ever repay your kindness!"
"Naw, no need to worry yourself," Boris said. "I only did what I could to help the children."
"You are a very kind-hearted man, Mr. Marcov."
Dante stealthily extracted himself from the scene and went to stand beside the raven-haired brat. He watched his big friend with a smile, worried that he might float away as the young woman continued to shower him with praise. Glancing beside him, he saw that Finn was watching them as well, looking absolutely bewildered. Their eyes met, and after a moment of hesitation, the boy asked.
Lingering for a moment, Dante turned his gaze to his massive friend.
"Maybe this will help him lose some weight."
=================================
For the months of May, June and July 2025, the first and only Privilege tier will cost only 1 Coin! Please read the latest Chapters as they come out!