Volume 7 Chapter 2 Part 10
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Translation by burnt.marshmallows
Editing by Team Foxsunes
「What?」I asked by tilting my neck. He murmured softly.
「Both you and that old lady are weird.」
He said expressionlessly. But one could clearly hear the wonder he felt from his tone of voice. How mean it was to call us「weird」. If my wet nurse, who had yet to return, had heard it, she would probably take offense and reply with「How rude」. Moreover….
「Could you please call her Suzette instead of that Old Lady? If you said it directly to her, you’ll have to face her wrath again.」
「Oh…… I, don’t, want that.」
「Right?」
I didn’t want it either. No matter how old she got, my wet nurse’s anger was terrifying and I wanted to avoid it as much as possible. Her anger was a different type of scary compared to my mother. Ah, I shivered just from thinking about it. The images of my wet nurse calling me「Young Lady」with her eyebrows furrowed and my mother calling me「Filmina」with a smile on her face appeared in my mind, sending a chill down my spine. Ahh, it really was terrifying.
Putting a stop to my train of thought, I tried to focus on the problem in front of me right now.
「So, what might be strange about us?
「Anyone would think you guys were strange. It’s impossible not to be scared of me. Seeing how I look like.」
Those black beast-like ears of his twitched. Seemingly vexed, he pressed down his own ears and curled up his tail. As if he were deliberating something, he let out a single gasp from his lips. And at the same time, his lips were quivering.
「I, a demon you know.」
As he delivered his lines clearly, with great resolve, I couldn’t help but start laughing. Looking at me laugh out loud, Noct furrowed his eyebrows in shock. But even if he gave me that face, I couldn’t help but laugh. I mean, it took him long enough to point it out.
「Oh my, it doesn’t matter that you are a demon. You still saved me. Isn’t it natural to want to repay that debt?」
「It was by chance.」
「Really?」
When I asked back, Noct averted his eyes away from me. Seeing how his actions spoke louder than his words made me laugh even more. It might really have been unintentional that he came in between that reporter and I with that timing. But one thing that was sure was that him helping me when I was about to fall was something he did intentionally. To me, that was enough.
In the first place, similar to what my wet nurse said, if I had been averse to him because he was a demon, I would have refused him from the beginning. Even though I knew he was a demon, I invited him to the mansion. Why would I fear him in that case?
「You seem to dislike the way you look, but to me, those ears and tail of yours are adorable.」
「…..Adorable?」
「Yes, aren’t they very cute?」
I didn’t think that I was one to have a fetish for animal ears, but looking the real thing up close, I might not be as sure anymore. Those triangular ears that twitched and that fluffy tail were truly adorable. With those feelings in mind, I nodded deeply. In response Noct made an awkward expression. It really was an iffy expression. I couldn’t tell whether he was angry, sad, or even shocked. He just looked deeply confused.
「That was the first time, that someone said something like that to me.」
「Oh dear. Then I guess the people around you don’t really have a very good eye, do they?」
As I nodded with a knowing look, Noct gave me a strained face.
「You really are, weird.」
ーOh, he laughed.
Luckily, I was able to suppress that thought without spitting it out. I was sure that if Noct had heard me, he would immediately wipe that smile off his face. It really was a very small smile. It was such a faint, clumsy smile that even he himself probably didn’t notice it.
「If only everyone was more like you.」
Noct murmured, narrowing his yellow-colored eyes. It didn’t seem like he was saying it to anyone in particular. He said as if in a daze, as if talking about a dream that would never come true. I didn’t know what to say in response to that voice and that expression of his, full of yearning. At that moment, Noct casually turned around to look at me. As I instinctively stood up straight, he opened his mouth.
「He. Could I take some of this meat to go?」
「Hm? Yes. I wouldn’t mind that but……」
There were still quite a few pieces of roast chicken left on the large plate that was placed on the table. We made it so that it would taste good even if it got cold. As I nodded in response to him pointing at it, his gaze softened happily. It really was a very subtle difference, so small that most would not be able to notice it. But having been observing the changes in that man’s expressions since I was young, it was easy for me.
It felt somewhat heartwarming thinking about that man used to express his happiness in this way too. I wonder what happened for him to become like how he is today. It’s not a bad thing or anything. The way he is now, in its own way, still had a good grip on my heart…….but that aside. I didn’t mean to talk about that now.
I shook my head in a bid to erase the image of that man’s mean smile from the back of my head. To pull myself together, I asked Noct:
「Is there somebody you want to give the food to? If so we can make more. And if there’s still enough time why not we make some else and wrap everything up together?」
That was something that was right up my alley. If he wanted to let someone eat the food, I would want him to take the opportunity to bring something presentable. I had asked him with that in mind, but the moment I finished, all emotion vanished from Noct’s face.
「No」
「What?」
「That person wouldn’t be happy even if I brought this to them. What that person wants is……」
「「That person」?」
With a bold tone, he directed his words at「someone」. Who was「that person」? As I instinctively tilted my head, Noct took a deep breath and shook his head awkwardly.
「Ah, n-no. It’s nothing. I’m going to eat it myself. With this, I’ll be able to go without starving for a while. It’ll really help, since it’s hard to hunt for prey in the winter.」
「…….Is that so.」
I realized that I had said something rather insensitive in response to something that he had only mentioned fleetingly, albeit a bit too late. I had known that this was a boy who was dressed in rags, who wasn’t able to get decent meals normally. It was only natural that he would be securing food for「himself」rather than「someone」. I was embarrassed that I didn’t notice something so obvious and couldn’t help but feel bad for Noct. Yet, to apologize for it would make it seem even more like I was looking down on him. Ultimately, I decided to shift the topic with another question.
「Hey Noct. Why are you in the royal capital?」
The moment I asked that question, Noct’s fact stiffened visibly. Hm? I questioned in my head. Could this possibly be something that I shouldn’t have asked? Was it something even more unanswerable than the question that I had asked just now?
In this world, the two natural-born enemies that are the humans and the demons, have always maintained a balance by living separately, despite having always been fighting each other. It was not that there were clear lines drawn on our maps. But the northern part was known to be the demons’ lands. That was because the demon capital was built in the northern lands during the recent Battle against the Demon Lord.
If one called the Demon Capital the symbol of the demons, then this Royal Capital would be the symbol for the humans. It was where the Royal Palace, where the royal family who ruled the country, was located. It was where the head branch of the shrine that enshrined the goddess who protected our country was located. This was where that man in the royal court, in other words, the Royal Head Magician, Agedilus Von Lancent, had placed a barrier around. But even without the barrier, this city we called the「Royal Capital 」was where the princess, favored by the goddess, was born. It was said this was the place that overflowed with the strongest divine energy. That was why the demons never targeted the Royal Capital directly.
I couldn’t think of a single reason that this young boy, a demon, would go through the trouble of living in a royal capital like this. I was sure that a more provincial place, near the northern parts, where the influence of demons was stronger, would be a much easier place for him to live in. It would be possible if it was someone like Waulf, who I had encountered, together with the orphans from the orphanage, during the grand festival recently. He had infiltrated the Royal Capital because he had been pulled in by someone. But I never imagined that there would be a demon who would live in the Royal Capital out of their own volition. Thinking about it, I had meant it purely as a question, but maybe it was too personal a question.
Noct didn’t say anything. His eyes fell on his own knees and he remained silent. Me being me, I had no idea what to say so I couldn’t do anything but stay silent too. After a while, Noct slowly looked up. In his eyes was a look of resignation and a wry smile appeared on his face.
Can’t wait to see more? Want to show your support? CLICK HERE to be a patron and get additional chapters ahead of time!
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)