บท 94: CHAPTER 94 - Ekko's Parents
"What? Why would you want this junk?" Benso exclaimed, surprised. "If you want it, I can just give it to you."
"It's a magical item," Li Lin replied. He had no intention of hiding it from Benso; there was no need.
Benso visibly paused for a few seconds, then swallowed, wearing an expression of disbelief.
"Mag... magic?! How do you know?" he asked.
"I'm from Ionia, knowing a bit of magic is normal, right?" Li Lin casually provided a somewhat unreliable reason. "I'll buy it for 50 gold hexes. What do you say?"
"...Huh?" Benso widened his eyes, his face even more shocked. "How... how much?"
He thought he misheard and quickly checked his ears.
"Fifty gold hexes, should be worth that price," Li Lin said, unsure of the pricing for magical items in Runeterra.
However, Benso was his friend, and with the sponsorship from the Ferros family, he no longer needed Benso's people to steal Hextech crystals. Besides, Li Lin took Ekko away, considering it as compensation to Benso.
"I... Isn't that too much?" Benso hurriedly waved his hand, declining. "Forget it, forget it. I usually buy it for 80 silver wheels. Just give me 1 gold hex..."
Although he liked money, he and Li Lin had been good friends for a long time. Benso couldn't bring himself to exploit a friend like this.
"You know I'm not short of money," Li Lin insisted, sounding firm. "Wait a couple of days; I'll have someone deliver it to you."
Benso hesitated for a moment. "Well, thank you..."
In the following time, Li Lin chatted with him about some other things.
It wasn't until past six o'clock that a few grim-faced kids quickly slipped in from outside the shop.
They looked like troublemakers and didn't dare to enter directly through the main door. Instead, they tried to sneak into the second floor through a side alley.
However, like Vander, Benso was accustomed to dealing with these rascals and had his own way of handling them.
"Where are you going? Get in here!" He slapped the table, sternly shouting outside.
After two or three seconds, the shop door creaked open a crack.
The wind chime on the door echoed crisply in the room, dominated by the sound of mechanical gears turning.
A little gray face, full of anxiety, peeked in, with a few strands of blue hair falling in front of it.
It was Powder.
As the second youngest of the five children and the only girl, she naturally received a lot of affection from those around her.
Even Benso, with his hot temper, was very fond of her—unless she caused trouble.
But even then, when the children did something wrong, Powder would come out to face the adults first, calming their anger.
Powder's bright blue eyes lit up, and she excitedly ran in, ignoring the visibly angry Benso.
"Li Lin!"
Her eyes gleamed, and she happily ran into Li Lin's arms.
"Slow down, slow down. Why are you always so excited when you see me?" Li Lin lifted Powder, letting her sit on his lap.
Vaguely, he also heard someone outside calling her name in a low voice.
With a giggle, Powder seemed to have completely forgotten the several people outside. "I don't get to see you every day. How can I not be excited?"
Benso glanced at the dirty little girl with annoyance, snorted, and then turned his gaze to the door. "You guys, why aren't you coming in?!"
At this point, Powder remembered her sisters' request and hurriedly said, "Benso..."
"Shut up, and I'll deal with you later."
Startled by Benso's expression and tone, Powder shrunk into Li Lin's embrace, afraid to speak again.
After a few seconds, led by Vi, the four children walked in with their heads down.
Benso walked out from behind the counter, pulled out a chair, sat down with arms crossed and legs crossed, squinting at the group.
"Speak, what trouble did you cause again?"
Vi, with an unhappy expression, looked up at Benso and said, "We didn't..."
"Don't talk," he interrupted Vi directly, then turned to Ekko, "Ekko, you speak!"
"I, I..."
Ekko, called by Benso, immediately panicked, stuttering and unable to say a word, only able to look to Powder for help.
Seeing this, Powder lifted her eyelids and gently poked Li Lin's chest with her finger, speaking in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Li Lin..."
Powder's pitiful expression won over Li Lin.
He sighed helplessly and turned to Benso, saying, "Forget it, Bensuo."
"Don't spoil them like this, Li Lin," Bensuo's expression remained gloomy. "If they make mistakes, they must be punished. They need to understand this, or what will happen in the future?"
Li Lin stood up, placing Powder on the chair. "It's getting late. Let them pack up quickly. I'll take Ekko back to Kiramman estate."
"""""Ah?"""""
All five children were stunned.
"Ah what? Have you forgotten that Li Lin took Ekko as an apprentice?" Benso's tone was impatient. "It's been a few months, and the Undercity has stabilized. Li Lin is here today to take him back."
He paused, pointing at Vi, Claggor, and Milo, continuing to scold, "Look at you all, running around the Undercity every day. Li Lin asked you to go to the upper city for study, but you didn't go..."
"It's not entirely our fault," Milo couldn't help but retort.
Vi's face immediately became unpleasant.
Claggor nudged Milo with his elbow, signaling him to look at Vi in front of them.
Milo realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly covered his mouth.
Li Lin placed both hands on Benso's shoulders, making him turn around. "Calm down, calm down."
Then, he turned his head, lifted his chin, and gestured to the others.
Vi beckoned to Powder, urging the three behind them, and hurriedly ran into the inner room while Benso didn't go out.
Bensuo sighed heavily, returned to the counter, picked up a bottle of rum, poured himself a glass, and drank it in one gulp.
"If these kids continue with this attitude, when they go to the upper city, they'll definitely cause you trouble."
"Kids, they'll mature with time," Li Lin chuckled. "Don't worry, I know what to do."
"Alright, you handle this matter."
He grabbed the pipe and matches on the table, lit it himself, and took a puff.
"However, if you want to take Ekko today, it's better to take him to his parents and inform them."
"Understood."
Twenty minutes later.
The few children tidied up and bid farewell at the entrance of Benso's grocery store.
Taking advantage of Benso not going out, Li Lin discreetly tossed the Heart of Gold into the store, without attracting anyone's attention.
Vi led Powder, Claggor, and Milo towards the path to The Last Drop.
Meanwhile, Li Lin, guided by Ekko, headed towards the lower level of the central square, where his home was.
Ekko's parents worked on the factory assembly line and usually finished around seven o'clock.
Often, due to upper management arrangements, they had to work until eight or even nine o'clock before returning home.
Despite Li Lin frequently giving money to Ekko, urging him to persuade his parents to change their lives, they continued with their daily routine.
All the money, except for buying delicious food for Ekko every day, remained untouched by them, maintaining their barely adequate lifestyle.
On one hand, they believed this was money earned by their child and should be managed by Ekko. However, due to his young age, they temporarily stored it for him.
On the other hand, they had become accustomed to their current life and were reluctant to spend a penny...
This was what Ekko told Li Lin earlier, leaving him feeling deeply emotional.
So, this time, Li Lin decided that when he saw Ekko's parents, he would find them a new job.
(End of this chapter)
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