TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 58
“You son of a b*! Stop right there!!!”
-Gooooom!
“I said stop right there!”
Today, the Young Lady’s Room was peaceful as always.
The Young Lady was playing tag with Gomtangi.
Even though a month had passed since Gomtangi arrived, the two showed no signs of getting along and were busy growling at each other.
Gomtangi, with an unopened chocolate in her mouth, was madly jumping on the bed, while the Young Lady desperately stretched out her hands to catch her.
Gomtangi had snatched the chocolate prepared as a snack.
The Young Lady stared at Gomtangi with a look as if she’d lost the world.
“You stupid dog! Bring it back right now!”
The Young Lady spat harsh words as she struggled to catch Gomtangi. When she tried to catch her, Gomtangi jumped off the bed onto the floor; when she gave up, Gomtangi climbed back onto the bed, wagging her tail.
Perhaps because she resembled the person who picked her up, her teasing skills were top-notch.
“You stupid dog! Give it here!”
-Gooooom…!
Gomtangi was mocking the Young Lady.
Like a Turkish Ice Cream Man in her previous life, repeating, “You want to catch it? You can’t catch it, can you?” she hovered in front of the Young Lady, and it was infuriating even for me to watch.
-Huff… Huff…
Gomtangi panted heavily.
Maybe because she had been overfed meat to fatten her up during the past month, Gomtangi, whose body had successfully expanded, plopped down on the floor with a wobble.
The Young Lady pointed a finger at Gomtangi.
“Ricardo, we can’t let this go! Let’s spread soybean paste on her!”
The Young Lady uttered such chilling words in front of the pet. Covering Gomtangi’s ears, I said to the Young Lady.
“How could you mention spreading soybean paste on our lovely Gomtangi? She’d be hurt if she heard that.”
“Gomtangi or whatever, she’s just so annoying!”
The Young Lady, her eyes spinning with anger, was being dead serious.
Watching Gomtangi scratch her head with a murderous gaze as if she would turn her into Gomtang soup any moment, the Young Lady was seething.
To appease the Young Lady’s anger on behalf of the clueless Gomtangi, I pulled out a chocolate from my pocket.
The Young Lady, seeing the chocolate in my hand, spoke with a murderous gaze.
“One isn’t nearly enough!”
Overwhelmed by the Young Lady’s greedy honesty in negotiating even in this situation, I reluctantly pulled out two chocolates from my pocket.
I was the one who picked her up, so I had to take responsibility.
When two chocolates ended up in the arms of the angry Young Lady, she gave a bright smile and flashed a thumbs-up.
“Hehe!”
‘Why is she praising that over there?’
I was the one who gave it to her, yet the Young Lady, complimenting the wrong thing, patted the side of the bed and said.
“Meat! Come here!”
-Goom!
“Huh?”
Gomtangi, wagging her tail naturally, climbed onto the bed and placed the stolen chocolate next to the Young Lady.
“Good job!”
The Young Lady vigorously petted Gomtangi. With an expression like a scammer who had just caught a sucker, Gomtangi and the Young Lady shared a sly smile.
Seeing the two of them grinning wickedly, I thought to myself.
‘Was I tricked…?’
As if to confirm, the Young Lady pulled jerky out of her pocket and fed it piece by piece to Gomtangi.
‘That pig.’
I felt a sense of betrayal.
Like owner, like dog—they were both masters at teasing the Butler.
“Sigh… I was tricked again.”
With a hand on her throbbing forehead, the Young Lady replied impassively.
“Getting tricked is your fault.”
“…You’re not wrong.”
The Young Lady was imparting the truths of life.
A month had passed since the Final Evaluation ended.
A month during which we gained a new family member and I punched Mikhail.
During that time, the Academy sent people over, and the Young Lady tearfully cried upon seeing her cleansed arm—a month full of memories.
-It’s such a relief… Truly… Such a relief!
-This is the power of the All-Purpose Ointment.
-Sniff… Don’t get scammed again!
For a month, we didn’t live busily.
There was nothing to do, and we didn’t want to do anything.
If you have money saved up, spending it is the truth of life. Retirement funds were a problem for future me to handle, so the Young Lady and I enjoyed a month of unemployment.
With all debts paid off, I figured our hard work deserved a bit of indulgence, and even our empty wallets would understand a little idleness.
With the mindset of an unemployed slacker, I threw myself toward the Young Lady’s lap as she sat on the bed.
-Squish.
It was slightly firm, but the soft texture of her thighs felt pleasant against the back of my head. The Young Lady’s Legs could rival any in this world when it came to lap pillows.
Two years ago, her thighs were even softer and squishier than now, but back then, the Young Lady’s Legs were so frail from not being able to walk that they were nothing but skin and bones.
Worried about putting strain on her fragile legs, I awkwardly lay down, trying to hold my head up.
The Young Lady’s Legs were delicate.
‘So thin… Nothing but bones.’
Before she could see my bitter expression, I buried my face beneath her large chest. I didn’t want her to see me upset.
Determined to one day heal the Young Lady, I looked at the palm of my hand wrapped in bandages.
‘Rehabilitation’s Touch.’
It was the only method I could rely on for now.
Although I had hope, I couldn’t be sure of this ability, leaving me feeling conflicted.
I didn’t know how much my body would deteriorate.
And I couldn’t be certain I could heal the Young Lady.
While I was lost in bitter thoughts, the Young Lady, serving as my pillow, looked at me with an indifferent expression.
“You’re heavy.”
“There’s nothing in my head, so I’m light.”
“You have more than me…!”
“I’m a commoner, so my head is light.”
The Young Lady tried to push my head away while grumbling, but my stubbornness in holding onto the prime spot left her no choice but to give up.
Even though the Young Lady couldn’t feel anything from the waist down, she seemed annoyed at me resting on her thighs.
Pressing my face against the folds of her skirt, I chuckled softly.
“Just a little longer.”
“Ugh…!”
“I’ll lie down just a little longer.”
The Young Lady let out a long sigh and focused back on her chocolate.
A month had passed.
Though it was a time of leisure, quite a lot had happened.
[The Pride of the Swordsmanship Department, Mikhail, Awakens His Aura!]
The newspaper’s front page featured Mikhail, who had awakened his Aura, and the rewards for the events of that day stirred the Empire.
I wasn’t jealous.
I didn’t want to be famous.
I didn’t want the hassle of going to the Capital City, and going all that way just to receive an award didn’t seem efficient.
Unless they offered a lot of money, I had no desire to travel all the way to the Capital City for a small plaque and a handshake with the Academy’s headmaster.
I’d rather spend that time viewing the autumn leaves with the Young Lady.
Looking at the Young Lady with chocolate smeared around her mouth, I thought.
‘Come to think of it, we didn’t go see the autumn leaves.’
With the events involving Mikhail and the arrival of Gomtangi as family, it had completely slipped my mind.
This year, the autumn leaves are truly beautiful.
I turned my head to look outside the window. Although the leaves were falling, it seemed that there was still enough scenery left to enjoy the autumn leaves.
I straightened my body and looked at the Young Lady.
“Eat a lot and grow deliciously…”
The Young Lady was feeding jerky to Gomtangi. Clueless about the Young Lady’s wicked intentions, Gomtangi happily accepted the jerky, lying on the bed with her belly exposed.
“Young Lady.”
When I suddenly called her, the Young Lady flinched her shoulders.
The Young Lady spoke to me in an awkward voice.
“I didn’t give her anything!”
The Young Lady quickly hid the jerky behind her back. Even though the wrapping paper stuck out conspicuously, I pretended not to notice and carefully asked while gazing outside the window.
“Could you spare some time for me today?”
“Time? I’m busy.”
Despite being unemployed, the Young Lady claimed to be busy. Her loafing expression made me chuckle.
“I need to take a nap today too.”
“Cockroaches will appear.”
“No, it’s fine. She eats them all.”
“…”
Considering Gomtangi’s suspiciously omnivorous appetite, I nodded slightly.
“She certainly catches them well.”
“Yep. That’s why I can nap peacefully.”
“Come on, just for one day, please make some time.”
Pointing at the sunny view outside the window, I said to the Young Lady.
“It looks like a perfect day for hiking.”
“Hiking?”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady stared out the window for a long time.
As the red and yellow-colored leaves of the Hamel mountain range came into her view, the Young Lady’s eyes widened.
“Bothersome.”
The Young Lady was honest about her emotions.
“Why not? Let’s go out, get some fresh air, and eat something delicious.”
“No. If we climb all the way up there, Ricardo will have a hard time.”
Feeling pleased with the thoughtful consideration the Young Lady showed for her Butler, I smiled slightly and rolled up the sleeve of my right arm to show her.
My forearm, revealing pale skin.
Although there were still some darkened scars here and there, they no longer hurt, nor were they rotting away due to Dark Magic—they looked completely normal.
The Young Lady poked it lightly with her finger.
“Is it all healed?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Even though a month had passed since I showed my arm to the Young Lady, she still worried about it.
Still, the Young Lady, who applied ointment and wrapped bandages around my healthy arm, didn’t believe my words. Probably because of my history.
Hoping to assure her, I flexed my forearm to make it firm, but the Young Lady, poking it repeatedly, looked at me with a concerned expression and said.
“It still seems like it hurts.”
“It’s completely healed.”
“Ricardo is a liar. I can’t trust you.”
I was feeling a burden of conscience in many ways.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I lifted the Young Lady into a Princess Carry, despite her subtle refusal.
Butlers are supposed to neglect their master’s opinions.
Looking at the flustered Young Lady struggling, I said.
“Let’s go see the autumn leaves.”
The Young Lady looked at me and asked.
“Do we have a lot of money?”
I responded to the Young Lady with a reassuring gaze.
“Hiking is free.”
“Oh…!”
The Young Lady smiled brightly.
It felt like I had received her permission.
Before leaving, the Young Lady chuckled softly and said.
“Then let’s drink!”
“What?”
“I’ve never tried it… Let’s drink. Alcohol!”
The Young Lady pulled at my collar with a mischievous smile.
Alcohol.
It would be her first time drinking here….
Though I feared the Young Lady might get drunk, her innocent smile left me with no choice but to reply.
“Then just one bottle.”
“Okay!”
I spoke to the Young Lady with a sense of concern.
“For the record, I’m a heavy drinker.”
“A whale?”
“I mean I can drink a lot.”
“Oh…”
The Young Lady straightened her shoulders confidently and replied assertively.
“I’m a whale too!”
I had a bad feeling about this.