18-7
The Boy Who Admired Knights
Translator : PolterGlast
The day I took the
guild's promotion exam and brought back a special book I couldn't show anyone,
I remembered a schedule I had forgotten.
「A
fever, you say?」
「Yes,
My Lord. He was stable for a while, but it seems he developed a slight fever
today, and food is hardly passing through his throat.」
It's about that boy
we rescued from Codwall's
storehouse. I intended to check on him, but had completely forgotten. It seems
he got a fever.
「Shall
I report to you when his condition returns...?」 The maid said reservedly
to her master with a weak presence. Practically speaking, the master of this
mansion is someone like Atomina-aneue, I suppose.
「No,
this is exactly the time for yams.」
「...Eh?
Y-Yams, is it?」
「Right.
In times like this, nothing beats grated mountain yams. Alright, I'll go gather
some. Leave a grater in a conspicuous place in the kitchen for me. See ya.」
「U-Umm,
My Lord, it's night right now, you know!? Ah...」
Night is my
territory. As soon as I dashed out of the Lord's mansion, I removed the lens
covering my eye. I
suffered because of this eye, but now it is nothing but a convenient special
ability. I dove into the forest north of Erin.
And searched for yams. Found them. Since I went through the trouble, I secured
5 or 6 of them and returned to the mansion.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
「Yes...
Come in...」
When I knocked on
the door, a feeble boy's voice came from inside. It seems he was awake. A lamp
was lit, and the boy was simply gazing at the trees beyond the window. That face
turned towards me.
「Eh...!?
A-Ashley-sama!?」
「You
remembered me. How's your condition?」
「Eh,
condition... Ah, yes, it has settled down quite a bit... Thank you for nursing
someone like me, even though I can't return anything...」
The boy was formal.
But I am not happy being treated with such an attitude. So I thrust a bowl of
grated yam towards him.
「I
heard you got a fever, so I went and dug up some yams. Here, eat, this will
pass through your throat.」
「U-Umm...
ehh...? Did you go gather this... for my sake...?」
「I went
through the trouble of saving you, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if
you died. Come on, don't hold back, gulp it down, it's for your own good.」
「Ugh...」
Since he didn't take
it, when I stepped in and thrust it forward, the boy cowered. He has a
beautiful face. Although he still had scars of abuse all over his body, he had
a cuteness that perverts would likely fancy.
「Sorry,
it seems I was a little rough.」
「N-No...
This is my problem, so Ashley-sama
is not at fault! I-I will partake...」
「Are
you still afraid of men?」
「Yes...
I'm sorry, even I find it pathetic... This kind of thing...」
When he brought the
grated yam to his mouth, perhaps his body was craving nutrition, he started
slurping it deliciously. He scraped the bowl with a spoon and ate it all
cleanly. ...Come to think of it, I forgot my own portion.
「Phew...
I'm sorry, it seems I was hungry...」
「Seems
like it. Having you eat it so deliciously makes it worth the trouble of gathering.」
「You
are... kind...」
「I
wonder about that. I'm just following my intuition. I'm glad it seems you've
gotten better.」
Talking to him like
this, he was quite an easy guy to talk to. Reserved and humble, he's a rare
existence among the folks gathering
in this mansion. Every single one of them has strong self-assertion, after
all...
「My
name is Baldur, Ashley-sama. I am often called Bud
by others...」
「A
brave name. Nice to meet you, Bud.」
「Yes,
nice to meet you too! And, once again, thank you for saving me...! I wanted to
thank you the whole time, but kept missing the timing...」
「Rather,
it's simply because I'm a human who can't stay in one place.」
Bud, huh. He doesn't have the face of a Baldur, but Bud suits
him quite well. He was straight without distortion, and possessed a quality
that makes you want to cheer him on.
「It's
proof that you are a man of action. Ashley-sama,
when this body heals a little more, please let me help you!」
「Help,
huh... But if it becomes known that you are helping us, your family might be
threatened, you know. That is Yord's
method.」
「I am
an orphan, so it's fine. My father was a servant, so on his deathbed, he
introduced me to the Knight Order.」
He targeted an
orphan with no relatives, huh... There were times I felt a bit of guilt about Codwall's end, but... targeting such a
child is the lowest of the low.
「But
you're afraid of men, aren't you. It's fine for now, so slowly heal your body
and heart.」
「Th-That's...
I'm fine... I'm not afraid or anything...」
「Then
let's test it.」
「Ugh...?!」
I took the boy's hand
and observed his complexion. He's pale and trembling. Reintegrating into
society is still impossible.
「I-I'm
fine... I am a man, I'm not afraid of men... Ugh, urgh...」
「You
are admirable. Trying to face something painful like that. I am always running away
from troublesome things.」
As a small
consolation, I gently stroked the palm of his hand. Being shown something like
this, one cannot help but console him. Gender does not matter.
「A lot
of... terrible things were done to me...」
「But
you survived like this. The nightmare is already over.」
「He
rejoiced at seeing me suffer... When I pleaded for help, he laughed happily...
He was a guy like a devil...」
That's what you call
a sadist, I suppose. When the defect of a lack of conscience is added to that,
a monster who can truly enjoy violence from the bottom of his heart is born. I
learned this from the book of the other world too.
「Having
a red-hot branding iron pressed against me... Being suddenly hit for no
reason... That smelly guy's body squeezed me until my ribs felt like
breaking...」
「But Codwall is dead, he's no longer here.
He died a miserable death befitting his evil deeds. You are safe now.」
He probably couldn't
help but speak of it. He must have wanted to tell someone what was done to him.
「You are
a wonderful person...」
The trembling
stopped from his body. He squeezed my hand back, and perhaps misunderstanding
me in some way, he said something strange looking somewhat happy.
「Please,
let me take care of your personal needs. For the current me, that's about all I
can do...」
「Sorry
but I decline that. I am a prodigal Prince, I am bad at staying in one place,
so I do not need a page or the like.」
「Then I
will follow you!」
「Even
more so, no. That will hinder my freedom. Hm...?」
A knock sounded. Wondering what it was, I turned
around and saw Atomina-aneue and Lady Yumil.
「Oh my,
Ashley, you were in an unexpected
place...」
「You
two as well. Hm, what's that?」
「There
were yams in the kitchen. Thinking this would pass through Bud-kun's throat, we grated them.」
Everyone thinks the
same thing, huh. Let's not mention that I was the one who dug them up.
「Good
for you, Bud, you must have been
hungry.」
「Eh...?」
「You
have to eat properly, okay?」
「I feel
like I ended up making too much. But since you haven't eaten anything, you can
handle this much. Do your best, Bud!」
However, wouldn't he
throw up if made to eat three portions?
「Umm, I
already received some from Ashley-sama,
so...」
「What
are you talking about?」
「Please
don't play dumb!?」
「Oh
my... Those yams, did you go gather them? You unexpectedly have good points...」
「It's
fine, about three portions will fit in♪ After all, you're a boy♪」
「It's
impossible, that much won't fit in!!」
「That
won't do. You won't get better if you don't eat properly. Besides, these are
grated yams that Princess Atomina-sama
made while slightly scraping her hand on the grater, you know? I think you'll
be punished if you don't eat it properly.」
Personality-wise, it
seems Aneue and Yumil get along well. They were pressing bowls filled with grated
yam onto the boy while laughing together. Yams fill the stomach more than they
look, after all. Bud is probably
already full. However, even if I explain that, Aneue in this state won't stop. This is an empirical rule.
「But
three portions would kill him. If it's alright, could you give that one to me?」
「Oh my,
does Ashley-kun want to eat my home
cooking? Let's see... fine, I'll give it to you specially.」
I wonder if just
grating yams can be called home cooking. Receiving the bowl from Lady Yumil, I scooped it into my mouth using
a spoon.
「Hii?!
M-My stomach, it's really full!」
「You
mustn't hold back. You hadn't eaten properly, so eat properly.」
「Th-That's
why... it won't all fit in at once...」
「It's
an Imperial Princess's order. Eat, Bud-kun.」
「Hiiiiii!?」
Unilaterally shoving
grated yam into his mouth, that is almost half abuse now. But that too is due
to love. I am not great enough to be able to deny Aneue's love. Out of sympathy, I lightly patted Bud's shoulder. Then, it seems he had
overcome his androphobia just a little bit. He didn't tremble at the skinship,
nor did he raise his voice.
「Even
if you have no appetite, you have to eat properly. Atomina-sama, I'll hold him down.」
「Eh!?」
However, I don't know about his gynophobia. For a moment I thought about stopping them, but seeing the sight of him being nursed by Aneue, I changed my mind. A rough cure is also necessary once in a while. Yeah, I am absolutely not jealous of such a weakened boy.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Xavier O'Donoghue
Anton Lim
Austin Lorenzo
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
