Volume 7 Chapter 2 Part 4
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Translation by burnt.marshmallows
Editing by Team Foxsunes
「T-thank you very much.」
When I instinctively thanked him, those eyes of his opened wide as though he were surprised. After a short pause, he started to swing around as if he were at a loss as to what he should do. And after a long silence, he finally opened his mouth.
「……Are you hurt?」
The tone of his voice sounded unmistakably detached, but I was sure that I could hear some hints that he was actually concerned about my wellbeing. As I happened to look up at his face, I was certain that I could see a look of concern flashing in those beautiful yellow eyes that peeked out from his long fringe.
It might have just been my imagination. But for some reason, at this point in time, I was suddenly reminded of how that man used to be.
It was before he had entered the Magic Academy, when Uncle Lancent brought him to the Adina Mansion to come play with me. Whenever I would get my foot caught in the hem of my long dress and fall, he would always try his hardest to catch me although he was even smaller than me at the time.
ーAre you ok?
Young as he was, he had somehow stopped me from falling. He then proceeded to ask me indifferently, but I definitely could hear the tinge of concern in his voice. When I answered that I was alright, his expressionless face relaxed awkwardly. He looked like he was much more relieved than I was. The young man’s attitude made me think about that man’s attitude in the past.
Maybe that was why. Rather than the fear that I was supposed to feel against a being of the demonic race, I strangely felt a sense of warmth rising up from within my body. As a result of that warmth, a smile naturally appeared on my face.
After I got out of the young man’s arms and regained my composure, I shook my head in a bid to answer the young man’s question.
「Yes, I am alright. All thanks to your help.」
「……」
The young man used those yellow eyes of his to get a good look at me. Those black-colored, triangular ears of his darted forwards and backward. I watched as his ears moved around.
The man just now had called this young man one of the 「demonic races」and ran away. It was true that the ears that were coming out of this young man’s head were something that would usually mean that someone was from the demonic race. A normal human being could not possibly have black, beast-like ears like these. Even I might have ran away like the man did just now, had I not just been saved by this young man. Of course another reason could be that I was too naive in my perception of those from the demonic race. At the same time, I could not sense any antagonism or hostility from the atmosphere that enveloped this young man. This young man was just standing here without trying to do anything. I was at a loss about how to react to a young man like this.
ーWell then, what should I do now? Once again, I started to think again, surprisingly calmly. It would be quite overdue, but if I were to fulfill my responsibility as a citizen of the royal capital, I should be screaming and calling for people and all that.
After all, that’s how it should be right? If we classified this young man as someone from the demonic race, then I would be the wife of the magician who was hated by all from the demonic race, having defeated the demon lord who all demons worshipped. Revenge. That word popped into my head. If that were really the case, then I would be bad news if I didn’t start to do something to counteract. I would have to start to take up countermeasures as soon as possible. But for some reason, I just did not feel like I needed to do that. I did not feel the fear that I felt when facing Waulf. Maybe I was just complacent about the peace lately. No, I was sure that was not the case.
It was just that, this young man had saved me. It was because he was concerned about me. Because of how his actions overlapped with that man’s actions when he was a young boy. Because of that, I wasn’t able to feel the fear and wariness I was supposed to feel towards the young man. Wasn’t that reason enough?
Seeing how I neither ran away nor screamed, the young man didn’t even seem to make a single movement. There was a great silence in between us. Grrrrrr. Finally, a deep, loud, rumbling sound was heard. The sound came from the young man. But it did not come from his mouth. Instead, it came from his stomach.
「Oh dear.」
「Ah!」
What a loud rumble that was. When I finally muttered, impressed, the young man’s expressionless face turned bright red. I tilted my head slightly to peer at his obviously embarrassed face.
「Might you be hungry?」
Only after saying it out did I realize that my question sounded as if I were teasing him. One could easily imagine that he was not getting any decent meals, looking at how thin he was.
The young man did not answer my question. As if to prevent me from talking to him more, he covered his head back up with the rag cloth. He inverted the hems of the cloth and turned around. The dusty smell choked my nose, but following my own impulse, I tossed aside the paper bag that contained my wool yarn and reached my hand out.
I did not know why I tried to do that. Perhaps it was by instinct. Or It could have been by impulse. But, I just could not leave him like that. I had the feeling that, if I just kept quiet and let him go, I would regret it. What on earth was I doing? This was someone I had not met before and it was someone who might be of demon blood. But before those worries even appeared in my head, I had already reached my hand out.
「Wait right there!」
My paper bag had fallen on the ground. Instead, my hand was grabbing onto the rag cloth that covered the young man. Because of that, the young man’s foot stepped on the cloth that had surrounded him and fell forward forcefully. It was at that time that I first noticed that his legs were bare. Panicking, I let go of his hand. But it was too late. Having lost his balance, the young man fell with a loud 「Thud!」, and his body hit the ground with great force. I couldn’t do anything other than watch him fall, dumbfounded.
What should I do? I really messed up. What a terrible thing I have done to someone who saved me from danger.
「A-are you alright?」
I crouched down beside the young man who had fallen face flat on the ground and gently shook his both. But there was no response. He must have hit somewhere bad, as it seemed that he had completely lost consciousness. I somehow sat his body up and leaned his upper body against a wall. Swiping his long fringe left and right, I could finally see his face clearly.
「ーOh, dear」
I would like everyone to understand that it couldn’t be helped that I had to verbalize my surprise.
「What an adorable child. 」
His now closed yellow-colored eyes were huge, and the eyelashes that bordered those eyes were long and thick. He had a beautifully structured nose, and his thin lips were dry but had a nice shape. Maybe it was because there was no excess fat on his cheeks, but he had a sharp jawline that would give any observer a strong impression. But, even if you took that away, each part of his face was good-looking. This young man had a ten out of ten good looking face. One had no choice but to recognize that.
So that no one would see those black-furred, triangular, beast-like ears of his that would twitch every now and then, I covered the young man’s head with the shawl that I had on my shoulders. It was a thick shawl that was made just for the middle of winter. If he had this, his body probably would not get too cold. There we go. I breathed out once, picked up the paper bag with my wool yarn, and sat beside the young man.
And then, after waiting for a bit, the young man let out a small groan.
「H-hm……?」
「Have you woken up?」
I asked in response to his dazy voice. The young man’s yellow eyes suddenly opened wide in surprise. He stood up with great force, and within a moment took a large step away from me. At that moment, the shawl that I had put on his head had fallen on the ground. The young man looked at the shawl with a look of disbelief.
「Why……」
I was unable to tell what he was referring to when he asked「Why」. Following the young man, who appeared to be quite athletic, I stood up from the ground too. I picked up the shawl as I stood up and swiped off the dust that had collected on my coat. I then gave the young man a wide smile.
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