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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 190

CHAPTER 190: THE COLD

A little while after the sun came out from behind the horizon.

I woke up and moved to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.

It was my turn to be on meal duty today.

「Now then, what shall we have on the menu for today?」

Do we want to eat something more substantial like rice? Or shall we have some simple bread?

Since we can’t have meat or anything too fatty or heavy this early in the morning, it usually boils down to those two choices.

Sometimes I would like to try something new, something other than those two choices, but then again……

If I challenge myself with something that’s way out of my league, I might accidentally end up like Sora did.

And as expected, that would be really bad.

It was while I was in the middle of my preparations while thinking such rude things, when all of a sudden.

「….. Good morning.」

「Good morning, Tanya.」

Tanya showed her face in the kitchen.

She seemed to be still half-asleep, as her step was somewhat wobbly and unsteady.

「Oh my……? Was it your turn to be on the cooking duty today, Rein?」

「Yes, that’s right. It’s still going to take a while for the breakfast to be ready, though, so you can wait in your room until then if you want.」

「No I’m going to wait right here.」

「Really now?」

「Yeah…… Haah……」

Tanya then let out a strange kind of sigh.
It almost sounded kind of feverish to me.

If you look closely at her face, her cheeks even looked kind of red and burning up.

And her movements also seemed to be kind of sluggish, and she was even leaning against the table for support.

All of those symptoms looked really concerning to me.

So I stopped cooking and moved over to Tanya.

「Hm? What’s wrong, Tanya? Could it be that you are feeling under the weather?」

「Hmm……? No…… Not really, but……」

「Well, it certainly doesn’t look like “nothing” to me. Now stay put for a moment, why don’t you?」

「Huh!?」

I put my hand onto Tanya’s forehead.

Maybe it’s because my hand was cold, but Tanya made a really strange noise when I did that.

「Wha…… Rein? What are you doing all of a sudden?」

「Just hold still, don’t move…… Yeah, as I thought. You’re burning up.」

「T-This cannot be possible…… Do you seriously think that I, a mighty dragon, would come down with something like a common cold!?」

「Even the Ultimate Species can catch a cold if they are not careful enough about their health. For the time being, it will be better if you just stay put in your room. Can you walk there by yourself? Or do you want me to carry you there?」

「D-Don’t treat me like a child…… I can walk by myself just fine! …… Huh? Oh my……?」

Tanya tried to stand up…… and almost immediately she stumbled about, almost tripping and falling to the floor.

Maybe her fever was way more serious than I initially thought.

Yeah, when she is like that, I’m really worried about leaving her alone.

「Tanya, hold still for a moment.」

「Huh? Wait, what are you……?」

I then put my hands on Tanya’s back and behind her knees and held her up in that position.

「H-Hey!? W-What do you think you’re doing!? This is just way too……!?」

「Tanya, please be quiet for now. You are sick. You mustn’t overexert yourself needlessly.」

「B-But that doesn’t mean…… T-This is…… Well, umm…… W-Way too embarrassing for me to bear……」

For someone who was having a cold, Tanya was throwing a huge amount of fuss, but……

Before long her energy seemed to have run out, and Tanya became strangely docile and quiet.

While she was still like that, I took her back to her room and laid Tanya into her bed.

「Fuh……」

She was still trying to put a brave front in front of me, but it must have been too hard for her and before long Tanya let out a fatigued sigh as she laid down on the bed.

「Now wait a moment. I will be right back.」’

Saying that, I left the room for a moment and……

Before long, I went back there with a bowl of cold water and a towel.

I put the towel in the water and squeezed it really hard……

And then I placed it on top of Tanya’s forehead.

「Fuuh……」

「How do you feel?」

「A little bit better…… I think……」

「…… I see. That’s good to hear. Do you think you will be able to eat something?」

「…… As long as it will be something light.」

「Alright. I’ll make you some porridge right away. And then we are going to give you some cold medicine.」

「I don’t want to take any medicine! It’s bitter and disgusting!」

「Now, now, don’t act like a child.」

If she still has this much energy left in her to spare, she should be fine.

As I was leaving the room to make porridge and a meal for everyone else……

「Ah……」

I heard a voice that sounded somewhat lonely, as if it was trying to hold me here and prevent me from leaving.

「Hm? What’s wrong?」

「W-Well, umm……」

「Is there something you need?」

「Y-Yes, well…… Umm, an apple. I would like some…… grated apples, please……」

「I see. Okay, I will get that for you as well. Is there anything else?」

「…… No, that would be all.」

「Roger that. Now please wait a moment.」

「…… Yeah.」

***

「What’s that?　Did Tania catch a cold?」

「That’s really worrying……」

While I was making some rice porridge for Tanya……

Sora and Luna both showed up in the kitchen and I casually explained the situation to them.

「Well, if that’s the case here, just leave it to Sora! I am going to make Tanya a meal that is so nutritious and so delicious that it will cure Tanya’s cold in a flash!」

「No, Sister Dearest. I really think that you shouldn’t do that. Because if you do…… THat would only speed up Tanya’s downfall……」

I really had to agree with Luna on that one here.

「Umm…… I’m sorry, but can I ask you to prepare dinner for everyone?　I want to give Tanya something light and warm mto eat as soon as possible.」

「Umu! Leave it to me if that’s what you want to do!　I will cook everyone’s food in a jiffy!」

「Yes, let Sora and Luna handle everything! If you want, I can even make you some porridge, too.」

「No, no. I’ve already made some rice porridge, so that should be enough. Besides, I’m already grateful to you for preparing meals for everyone else.」

…… And just like that.

Leaving the rest to Sora and Luna, I visited Tanya’s room again, with a tray of rice porridge and a bottle of medicine in hand.

「Sorry for keeping you waiting.」

「Nnnhh…… Took you long enough……」

When Tanya saw me coming back to her room, she sat up on her bed.

「Here you go.」

I scooped some of the porridge with a sponge and brought it to Tanya’s mouth.

「H-Huh!? H-Hey…… What are you…… what do you think…… What are you doing!?」

「…… Hm? Oh, I see…… My bad, my bad.」

「Y-You know it! Don’t treat me like a child just because I happen to have a cold and……」

「I forgot to let it cool down. It must still be quite hot.」

「So you don’t get it at all!!」

「Fuuh…… fuuh…… Okay, that should be about cool enough. Here, now say “Ahh~”.」

「Ugh……」

Tanya’s face turned bright red as I held the spoon towards her once again.

Could it be that her fever has gotten worse?

「Are you okay?」

「Y-Yes, I’m fine…… Ugh, I can’t believe I’m getting so flustered over something like this…… Or that you can do something like this with such impunity…… Rein, aren’t you way too oblivious about certain things? I can’t help but think that sometimes.」

Tanya started to mumble something to herself under her nose.

Am I imagining things, or was she actually bad-mouthing me right now?

Oh well, it’s something that I can figure out later. For the time being, let’s not worry ourselves about that too much.

After all, I needed to prioritize taking care of Tanya here.

「Come on. “Ahh~”……」

「Uh, uuuhhh……」

「If you do not eat it soon, it’s going to grow cold, you know?」

「I-I know! I know, geez…… Umm, I mean…… Amuh.」

Tanya then reluctantly took the spoon in her mouth, looking all bashful and timid about it.

Just like that, she continued to eat the porridge for a moment or two.

「How is it? Do you like it?」

「W-Well, yes…… It’s fine, I guess.」

「Can you eat some more?」

「A little bit.」

「Okay then, “Ahh~”……」

「Ugh…… This again……」

「Hmm?」

「Ugh, alright! I know, I know! I just have to eat it, alright!? See!? I’m eating it! I’m eating it!」

For some reason, Tanya ate her porridge while looking all flustered and embarrassed.

She must have been reasonably hungry, so she ate the entire bowl of porridge in one go.

She also ate a grated apple along with it.

Then she took the cold medicine and……

She lied down again.

「Now then, just focus on resting for a while. Just get some sleep and don’t leave the bed, okay?」

「I’m not a child! I am going to lie down and rest, I promise.」

「If you need anything else, just call me.」

「You don’t mind if I call you out on a trivial errand or something like that?」

「It’s fine. You are sick now, Tanya, and when you are sick, you are allowed to be pampered like that from time to time.」

「…… Oaky.」

「I will see you later. Good night.」

I was about to leave the room, when……」

「W-Wait!」.

Gently, Tanya grabbed my hand.

「Yeah?　What is it?」

「I mean, it’s not like I need to call you only if I want you to run some errand for me, right?

「Yes, that’s right. Is there something else that you would like me to do for you?」

「W-Well……」

Tanya’s gaze wandered around for a bit, her cheeks stained crimson, but in a different way than that of a cold……

「…… Stay with me until I fall asleep. I’m so lonely at times like this, and I really hate it……」

「Sure thing.」

「…… Hmmnngg……」

While I gently stroked her cheek, Tanya smiled happily.