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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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As if she’d already been informed during her bath, Cheryl came looking for me in Asirye’s room.
Sure enough, Cheryl’s normally sky-high, pickled radish-like eyebrows were drooping.
She tried her best to hide it and act composed, but we’d been together for almost two years; I knew her too well.
“Did you have any succe— Don’t.”
She knew me just as well.
Seeing me approach, she stopped mid-sentence, immediately grasping the situation, and cut me off.
But no way was I letting her get away with it.
“Oh, look at this. Those usually perky eyebrows are drooping again, and you’re all sulky.”
“I’m not sulky. Stop it.”
“Tell that to the ghosts.”
I slipped my hands under her armpits, lifted her up, and forcibly evolved her into Longcat Cheryl.
She was surprisingly light, despite being toned from exercise, so I could easily lift her to chest height without using any magic.
Other servants wouldn’t even dream of doing this, but I was fundamentally Lagnis’s benefactor and Lord Ekaf’s guest.
Even though I was voluntarily acting as a butler, that fact remained unchanged, and Cheryl adjusted her behavior accordingly.
Perhaps it was because she was a clever girl who could thoroughly play the part, she even changed her speech depending on the situation.
Anyway, outside of butler duties, our relationship was no different from that of ordinary friends of the same age.
While verbally protesting, Cheryl, as always, offered no real resistance once lifted.
I swayed her back and forth, saying,
“You just need to focus on what you’re learning at the academy. It’s not shameful to be lacking in areas you haven’t learned yet.”
“Did you have no success either?”
“I did. But a lot of it was sheer luck.”
The prison guards being incompetent, Duke Lesrom summoning me because of that incident, even meeting Zikmel, and the new connection with Shadowfoot – it was all luck.
If I hadn’t imitated those spy movie moves, checking the stalls to confirm my pursuers, I wouldn’t have met Zikmel.
And if I hadn’t spent time there, I wouldn’t have crossed paths with Shadowfoot.
“It was thanks to actions I could take as a commoner and seeds I sowed four years ago unexpectedly bearing fruit today. So don’t get impatient making pointless comparisons.”
“…Are you ever impatient?”
Her question, posed while dangling as Longcat Cheryl without any resistance, was a bit puzzling.
“About this situation? Not really.”
Since her words were a bit disjointed, I gave a vague answer.
As expected, an unexpected response followed.
“Then what about other situations? For example, the process of achieving your goals?”
Hmm.
As a Cheryl-language master, I understood that what she was feeling in this situation was impatience.
But why compare it to impatience regarding my goals?
Did she want to say that impatience was inevitable because this matter was so important to her?
“That’s a bit sudden, but not at all.”
“Someone else could kill him before you do.”
“Ah. Yes, that’s possible. But I’m already doing my best, planning and living for revenge. Rushing beyond my plan would be detrimental. Impatience is something you feel when you don’t know what to do or aren’t making progress towards your plans. It has nothing to do with me right now.”
I was doing my best.
Not just making excuses while doing nothing, but genuinely putting in the effort for my second life.
I’d been learning common sense and other non-combat skills to avoid becoming a revenge-obsessed madman.
Of course, I still had obsessive moments, but that was a separate issue.
Seven years wasn’t a short time, was it?
Others might say that dedicating those seven years solely to honing killing techniques was the proper and desirable approach to revenge, but I disagreed.
Shouldn’t true revenge include preparing for life afterward?
The enemy should be ruined, and I should be happy.
That was the least I could do to avenge the one who screwed me over and tried to live happily ever after.
I fully intended to enjoy a proper fantasy life after my revenge and live out my days peacefully.
I was acquiring the necessary knowledge, taking advantage of my young age, and building relationships.
Thanks to that, I was persevering without any existential crises about my blindly wasted past life.
Even if things didn’t always go according to plan, I was steadily growing and achieving results.
There was no reason to feel impatient.
“I’m a commoner, but you’re a noble. Being talented isn’t enough for a noble. You also need to lead your followers and utilize their abilities. That requires trusting and waiting for others, not trying to do everything yourself.”
“…So just listen?”
“Yes. Stop moping. Contrary to our worries, Lagnis will likely be fine.”
Since it felt inappropriate to divulge my conversation with Duke Lesrom before speaking with Lord Ekaf, I asked for her understanding and continued my story.
Even excluding that part, I had a lot to share about my eventful day.
After listening, Cheryl fell into thought, then quietly said,
“I’d like to investigate this Shadowfoot person immediately, but… I can’t.”
“Right. Since they were following me, this is my problem.”
Unnecessary involvement could complicate things, and I wouldn’t be able to freely unleash chaos.
“So, if there’s no other information, will you target the slave traders immediately?”
“I’d prefer to deal with those watching me first, but if I can’t, I have no choice.”
I had no intention of leaving them alone, so I’d have to eliminate them.
Moreover, Asirye was also eager to deal with the slave traders.
We’d met thanks to slave traders, but that wasn’t an excuse to let them off the hook.
Thinking this far, a question popped into my head, and I quietly whispered to Asirye,
“Sis? By the way, how skilled are these slave traders?”
“It varies. Elf hunters are genuinely strong. Not only do they study and prepare extensively for hunting elves, but they’re also inherently powerful. Other than them, it depends on the type of slaves they handle.”
“But those bandits back then were just ordinary bandits.”
“I was unlucky, and they were lucky. The slave caravan I was on was attacked.”
“Attacked?”
Since I hadn’t wanted to upset Asirye, I hadn’t brought this up before.
It was an unfamiliar story.
“They attacked and annihilated the caravan in an instant. It wasn’t just one person; they moved as a unit. They struck in the middle of the night, so I couldn’t even tell who they were. I was knocked unconscious by falling debris during the chaos. When I woke up, the other slaves were gone, and all that remained were corpses and bandits rummaging through the wreckage.”
She recounted the unpleasant memory calmly, even managing a faint smile.
Truly elf-like.
“But I met Eldi without suffering anything worse, so it doesn’t matter now.”
Well, that was embarrassing.
After sharing this unspoken story from our years together, we took a short break.
The sun continued to set, but neither Shadowfoot nor Lord Ekaf arrived.
Eventually, finding it pointless to wait indefinitely while staring at the evening cityscape, we left the room to get dinner.
As we did, a servant was about to knock on our door.
“Oh, perfect timing. Eldmia? You have a visitor.”
“Is it a Pulling?”
“Yes. He said you’d be very happy to know he’s here.”
Shadowfoot’s judgment was accurate.
Forgetting my growing hunger, I dashed downstairs.
Reaching the main entrance, I found Shadowfoot tap-dancing barefoot, seemingly oblivious to the guards.
He hummed and danced enthusiastically, then, spotting me, stopped, spread his arms, and cheerfully exclaimed,
“Ahaha! I have returned, noble one!”
He was truly a high-energy individual.
It was uplifting just to watch him.
“Thank you for your hard work, Shadowfoot. Are you hungry? Shall we get something to eat?”
While I couldn’t invite him inside since the Ogatorf mansion wasn’t my home, we could eat out.
I wanted to treat him to a meal.
But Shadowfoot raised his index finger and shook his head, declining.
“Ah, ah, ah! I won’t fall for that, noble one! Accepting a meal is no different from receiving a hefty payment. Even if we were to split the bill, I couldn’t outrun you if you decided to sprint! I’ll have to decline!”
Smiling slyly, he seemed to genuinely enjoy this playful back-and-forth.
Seeing him so adamant, I realized there was no other way besides what Asirye had suggested, so I conceded.
“Haha. Alright. I’ll give up this time.”
“Good, good! Then let’s get straight to the point. It’s not far, actually. It took so long because those fools, thinking they were being clever, wandered around unnecessarily, keeping their distance. It was so pointless I wanted to run over and smack them. If they’d so much as bent down to tie their shoelaces, I would have!”
Speaking rapidly, Shadowfoot pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.
“It’s a map! I’d like to guide you personally, but this requires discretion! If other commoners saw us together, it could cause unnecessary complications later!”
I couldn’t help but applaud his unexpected meticulousness.
Amazing! Shadowfoot!
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[Shadowfoot is such a fucking CHAD]
We love Shadowfoot!
Our first Pulling is a goated one!