—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Neiva’s house boasted a magnificent size and grandeur, truly worthy of being called a mansion. Since she was someone who directly served the queen, it was natural for her to gain wealth no less than her honor.
‘What the hell would it feel like to live in a house like this?’
I, riding on her back, was passing through the garden attached to the mansion. Her well-kept garden relentlessly stole my gaze, constantly displaying its beautiful appearance so I couldn’t turn my eyes elsewhere. From the fountain placed in the middle of the garden, clear water gushed out without rest, and the colorful flowers surrounding it lured butterflies and bees to spread their pollen.
‘It’s a beautiful garden.’
If you said ‘knight’, the image was usually someone who only took care of necessary things, but looking at the appearance of the garden, it didn’t seem to be entirely like that.
“Do you like it?”
Neiva, perhaps having noticed my gaze, slowed her pace for a moment and spoke.
“Yes. It’s beautiful. This is the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful garden.”
It was true. Not only had I never been to a place like a mansion with a garden, but even for flowers, I had only seen forsythias blooming on the way to school a few times. Fluffy blue trees like sheep’s wool, and silver-white flowers harmonizing among them. Bright flowers around the fountain. Even her silver hair placed right before my eyes… To me, it was quite an overwhelming sight.
“I’m relieved. That you like it…”
Even the faint smile of relief that appeared on her lips, wasn’t it too much for me? Her heart that cared for me felt a little burdensome.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Looking at the size of the mansion from the outside, it made one imagine an interior bustling with countless servants. But inside the mansion, an oddly quiet stillness lingered. To the extent that it was even difficult to believe that Neiva lived here, the inside of the mansion gave off no atmosphere of a place where people lived.
‘The interior is in this state, so why is only the garden well-maintained?’
-Creak, creak
Following the elegantly decorated wooden stairs, she went up. The staircase, which must have taken tremendous effort to make, seemed to be struggling with the weight of a human it was receiving after a long time, letting out groans…
Feeling a little eerie and a little puzzled, I ended up opening my mouth.
“Uh, Neiva… Do you live here?”
“Normally, I stay at the knight order’s quarters. I don’t come home much, and when I do, I just sleep in the room upstairs. Still, everything you need is here, so please don’t worry.”
She didn’t add any further explanation and just took me to a certain room. There, a large bed was prominently placed, and various pieces of furniture that seemed to have been cared for were well-arranged, but it was the same for all of them in that they had no sign of being used whatsoever.
“If you’ll just sit here for a moment, I will clean it up right away. Even if it’s uncomfortable, truly just for a moment…”
Having carefully seated me on the bed, she, as she had said, brought a duster and a rag and began to clean the room. The inside of the mansion, unlike the garden, was quite lacking in maintenance. While feeling puzzled by that, I just sat quietly and watched Neiva cleaning. She didn’t seem like someone who would harm me, and I also had the Save & Load ability prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. Even though I was a little scared…
Still, she was the woman who saved me from Pilmark, and the only woman who willingly acted for me. The support I could currently lean on. The only support.
It might have been a little materialistic, but in the current situation where I couldn’t properly move even one leg, there was indeed a need to entrust myself to her. No. Still, wasn’t this a bit wrong?
Right. This was a bit wrong. She was someone who helped without any particular reason, so I shouldn’t be doing this with the thought of taking advantage of her. To think how hard she fought for me…
Fuck. What the hell was I thinking? You bastard with no conscience. If she said she would help, I should just say thank you and accept it. Stop arguing like a girl!
“Is this much alright?”
My mind snapped back at Neiva’s question. While I was thinking for a moment, she, who had diligently dusted and swept, was looking at me with a very worried expression.
“Ah…!”
Looking around, before I knew it, not only the area around the bed but also the dust that had covered the furniture was quite neatly gone. To Neiva, who even took on such troublesome tasks and cared for me, what the hell had I been thinking?
“Th, Thank you. Honestly. You didn’t have to go this far…”
“No. It was a matter of course.”
“No…! You honestly don’t have to do this. Why are you going this far for me? You’ve already helped enough. I’ll just stay until I recover and then leave. Thank you so much. If you do this, I’ll be in a difficult position. I’ve already received enough, so I’ll definitely repay the favor later! Anyway, please don’t worry any more.”
I desperately tried to stop her, waving my hands. If she were to bestow anything more, I felt it would be so burdensome I wouldn’t know what to do with myself, so I firmly stated that she didn’t have to worry any more. Hesitantly accepting what she bestowed wasn’t manly, but constantly accepting things was also not a manly thing to do.
“Is that so…”
However, Neiva, after hearing my words, wore a blank expression for a moment and muttered quietly. Then, as if having been struck on the head, she stared at me intently with her mouth wide open. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Four seconds. After that, she looked up at the ceiling, then soon looked down at her feet, her eyes distant…
Had I said something that shocking?
“Uh, there! Neiva. I didn’t mean it in any other way…! It’s just, you’re being too generous, so I feel a little burdened…”
“No. I troubled you too much. Please rest comfortably. As for the ankle issue, I will meet Pilmark, resolve it, and come back.”
Neiva left the room after leaving those words.
‘Has she gone?’
Soon, only I remained in the room. Even Neiva’s faint footsteps disappeared. It was the time when early evening gradually pushed aside the sunset and was dyed blue. Left all alone, I lay on the bed and fully enjoyed its softness. It was so soft that it was enough to make me think of hotel bedding. If I closed my eyes for just a moment, I felt like I would immediately fall into a deep sleep.
“Uhm.”
However, as I felt that softness with my whole body, Neiva’s expression from earlier suddenly came to mind, and I was quite worried.
Was there no particular reason to push her away?
No, speaking frankly, if such a pretty and strong big sister said she would help me, shouldn’t I be the one bowing deeply?
“Swooop…”
I turned over. Feeling it with only one cheek felt quite wasteful, so I rubbed the pillow against the other cheek as well.
Uhm… If it was someone who saved me, helped me, and even gave such good things generously, there was no need to push them away, was there? Right?
Her personality also seemed really good. She was kind, strong, and capable…
Someone like Neiva, wasn’t she a perfect fit as a companion?
Delrin, lying on the bed, entered into a quite serious contemplation. A situation where he had to gather companions to escape this other world. In this kind of situation, wasn’t Knight Captain Neiva the best possible companion?
A righteous and resolute spirit, kindness to help others, even altruism…
Delrin thought that Neiva was a person perfect in every aspect regarding the mental part. Of course, he also considered her nearly perfect in other aspects as well. Certainly, as he thought, Neiva was a very strong woman.
‘Uhm… But that’s not for me to decide, is it? Neiva has to agree…’
‘No. Was the Save & Load ability perhaps given to be used at times like this? To definitely make her a companion?’
‘Still, isn’t that a bit wrong? Making someone a companion as I please without even asking for their opinion? With an ability? It’s no different from a hypnosis app or something…’
‘Still, I have to escape quickly even if I use such a method. It isn’t the time to be choosy.’
‘Besides, just because I use the ability doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad, does it? It’s just that I’m using it well…’
‘Alright…! Let’s do it!’
Delrin finally made a decision. He planned to build favorability with Neiva when she returned and make her a companion. Of course, not properly asking her opinion felt quite unpleasant, but he believed that if he told her the truth later, she would understand! Believing that even if she knew everything, she would help him escape this other world!
He waited for Neiva like that. However, Neiva, even after quite a long time passed, didn’t easily return.
‘Why isn’t she coming?’
Was it that he thought time was passing slowly because it was a quiet room without a clock? No. Looking at the darkened scenery outside, a long time must have passed.
Delrin, holding a vague sense of unease, continued to wait for Neiva. Had something happened? Was the meeting with Pilmark continuing for a long time? Various worries slowly bloomed.
“Delrin.”
Neiva suddenly appeared at some moment. Delrin, who hadn’t even heard footsteps in that quiet situation, was startled and looked towards the door.
“Yeah, Neiva…? Hiiik!”
Seeing Neiva standing there, he was startled once again and ended up shouting. Unlike how she looked when she left, Neiva, who was covered in blood, with even her pretty silver hair stained bright red, walked towards Delrin, leaving bloody footprints on the floor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
