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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“……”
Looking at his reattached hand, Ares had a somber expression. It had been quite a while since I last saw him cry, but I could understand his feelings.
“Thank goodness, I’m so glad Ares.”
Next to Ares’ hospital bed, Arnie Duratan was holding him tightly as if in prayer, and she rejoiced together with him, shedding tears as if it were her own affair.
“So, is it over now?”
“……”
The Grand Witch who had reattached his hand sat down on a prepared chair, looking a bit tired, and Adriana tightly closed her mouth as she looked at Ares.
Just like Ares, who was overcome with various emotions as he looked at his reattached hand, Adriana also seemed to have her own emotions welling up as she looked at Ares.
‘Come to think of it, Ares was……’
He had a history of abandoning Adriana, who was being chased by Apviel, and running away just like that.
Although Ares couldn’t be solely blamed, from Adriana’s perspective, she couldn’t view it positively.
“To think you know such a mage. Daniel seems to have quite a wide variety of connections.”
Eris, who had been in Ares’ hospital room to keep an eye on him as he possessed the mark of Helios, approached me slightly and spoke.
I was grateful to her for waiting for me during the time it took to return from the Demon Realm Forest to Elgrid.
“It just happened.”
“Even the Elf Queen would have a hard time with this. I’ll have a brief conversation with her, so Daniel, why don’t you visit the other hospital rooms?”
“Hmm.”
I tried to say that we should go together, but Eris just smiled without saying anything.
But her expression seemed to strangely warn me.
As if asking if I could handle it if we went together.
Feeling a chill on the back of my neck, I unconsciously shrank back and tried to leave the hospital room, but I twisted my body and stood next to Ares.
Ares, who couldn’t move his hand properly yet and was just blankly staring at it, slightly looked up at me.
And I sincerely bowed my head to him.
“Thank you for not running away and fighting for my sister’s sake.”
“……”
That was the end of it.
Ares didn’t give a separate answer, and I also left the hospital room without lingering any longer.
How Ares would accept it was now entirely up to him.
“What, you really came?”
“I told you.”
In the corridor, Tana and Eve were chatting and waiting for me.
As expected, seeing the two of them made me feel more at ease.
“I didn’t even greet you properly. Were you both doing well?”
“Well, of course.”
“I wasn’t doing well.”
As Tana and I turned our gazes to Eve, Eve raised her hand with a pout.
“I demand compensation from Daniel!”
“…… Compensation?”
Knowing that she had been running wild like an unleashed foal for a while, I was a bit worried, but I also understood why Eris had sent me alone.
But Eve’s request was surprisingly modest.
“Just pat my head once.”
“Hmm?”
That’s all?
Eve’s soft, deep navy blue hair naturally tangled around my fingers. Eve slowly closed her eyes and moved her head according to my touch.
“Hehehe.”
Watching Eve smiling brightly, my heart felt warm again. Yes, she had just gone on a rampage for a moment, but Eve was still Eve.
My little Eve! Forever!
After patting Eve’s head, I glanced at Tana beside me, and she stuck out her tongue, pretending to vomit.
“Are you going to do something for me too? Forget it, just buy me a meal.”
Yeah, this girl would naturally be like this.
I nodded, indicating that I understood, and headed towards the hospital room at the very front first.
The two of them said they would wait in the corridor and didn’t follow me inside.
Entering the hospital room, there were two beds placed, and they were arranged at the end of each wall to allow two people to rest comfortably.
The girl with bleached white hair, Sen, and the short-haired swordswoman, Hayun.
Although they were both people who usually didn’t show much change in their expressions, the moment they saw me enter, they smiled slightly.
I wondered whom I should approach first, but Hayun pointed to Sen with a slight tilt of her chin, so I headed in that direction.
“How’s your body?”
“It’s okay. I can be discharged right away. I’ve been injured more severely many times during training in the Chokugen Faction.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Although it had faded a lot, the shackles of the Chokugen Faction still remained within her.
“Thank you so much. But I was a bit surprised that you, who know the dangers of the Tudogs well, made such a choice.”
I didn’t expect Sen, with the insufficient forces of just female students, to accept a battle with the Tudogs.
Even though she seemed to understand the meaning of my words, Sen answered nonchalantly.
“Because it was a mission.”
Huh?
I asked with a slightly puzzled expression.
“Whose?”
“Of course, you……”
Sen, who was about to say something, tightly closed her mouth. I think she just realized it, but I had never given her such a mission.
Sen looked at me and her own hand alternately with a perplexed expression. I smiled at her and patted her head just like I did with Eve.
It felt like looking at a niece, so to speak.
Anyway, it was admirable.
“You’re just starting to make your own choices and act on them now.”
“On my own……”
Sen looked up at me with a slightly anxious expression, but she stretched out both hands and pressed down on my hand that was patting her, telling me not to remove it.
“You’re saying I did it on my own?”
“Yeah, for your friend, me. You chose to fight the Tudogs, right?”
It’s natural to be anxious.
She hatched from an egg in Bethel. Right now, she was in the process of learning to walk.
At first, she might fall over because her legs don’t have strength, and she might cry after falling. She must be very scared because it’s her first time.
But because I believe she can ultimately do it.
I patted her head more vigorously as she wished, ruffling her hair, and then let go.
“I thought you were petting a dog.”
I tried to say it jokingly so that it wouldn’t be awkward, but a hospital pillow immediately flew at me.
“……”
The hospital pillow was surprisingly hard.
When I returned it to Sen, she hugged it and turned her head as if she was sulking.
Chuckling, I headed towards Hayun.
“Is your body a bit better?”
“Well, I wasn’t severely injured.”
Hayun spoke while looking around her body. She seemed to be passing time by knitting or something while hospitalized, as there was a ball of yarn on her lap.
“What are you making?”
“Gloves. So you can wear them when it gets cold.”
“Hmm?”
“What? Do you want to buy them?”
Trying to do business even in this situation. As expected of the flower beggar pretty girl.
When I told her I would think about it, Hayun gave a faint smile and cautiously asked.
“So, are things going well with Miss Eris?”
“…… No, actually, I was a bit scared earlier.”
When I told her about Eris’ mood just now, Hayun tapped her forehead and sighed.
“Make sure to tell her later that it’s a misunderstanding. I don’t know if she’ll believe you, though.”
“Sigh.”
But I couldn’t just not go and thank the kids who fought the Tudogs for me and my sister, could I?
“I’ll have to do that. I need to express my gratitude to the other kids first, so I’ll get going.”
As I tried to leave, Hayun suddenly grabbed the sleeve of my clothes.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Uh……”
I wondered what was going on, but Hayun was looking at her own hand with a surprised expression instead. As if she didn’t know why she had grabbed me.
She fidgeted with her hand for a moment and then swiftly held it out.
“Good work.”
Although it was out of the blue, I smiled and high-fived her palm.
“You worked hard too.”
After a simple high-five, I headed to the next hospital room.
Here too, there were two hospital beds, and two people who could be called mortal enemies were there.
“May and Elise?”
“Oh? You’re here!”
“Ah! Master!”
It was already a headache-inducing combination, but for now, I closed the hospital room door and entered.
I wondered why Elise, as a princess, was using a double room, but anyway.
“Master! Master! Come and own me!”
“Hey! If you go to him first, you’re really dead!”
Seeing both of them making a huge fuss on their respective beds, I unconsciously tried to go back out.
I highly commend myself.
“Master! Master! Master!”
“Argh! That crazy bitch. Is she a recorder?”
In the end, I moved my steps towards Elise, who seemed to be in a worse condition. She immediately handed me a collar and rope.
“Master! Remind me again that I’m yours with this!”
“No, I’ve never owned someone like you.”
“Ahh! Someone like me!”
What should I do with this?
I don’t know how to handle her since she seems to like it more when I speak roughly.
“But please! I’ve been working hard, haven’t I? I got hurt fighting for Master, didn’t I?”
“……”
What is this?
She’s saying she’s a slave and that she’s my property, but she’s subtly threatening me, isn’t she?
“You’re out of your mind.”
On the other side, May had her arms crossed, expressing her annoyance.
Come to think of it, isn’t this like a cursed doll or something? No matter how much you throw it away, it keeps appearing in the house.
‘Ah, dammit.’
Just thinking of it as a curse, I strangely understood and resigned myself to it.
Elise was looking at me with sparkling eyes, hoping I would do something rough to her, but glancing at her body, she seemed to be injured much more severely than the other kids.
‘Sigh.’
I heard that she led the kids along with Rin to fight against the Tudogs, so I wanted to do what she wanted as much as possible, but……
Ah, I don’t know.
Elise was also a princess, so I twisted my body at an angle where May couldn’t see and gently held her hand, lightly kissing the back of it.
The action a knight takes when pledging loyalty to a princess.
“Just once. I’ll fight for you too.”
“……!”
Elise’s mouth slowly opened as she blankly stared at me.
I wondered if it was unsatisfactory since it was the complete opposite of the harsh act she desired.
But Elise showed slight tears.
“Ah, aah……”
“Wh-what’s wrong?”
Worried about what kind of reaction she would show now, I asked cautiously, and Elise spoke with a wide smile.
“This, this is really nice too.”
“Yeah, let’s change your taste a bit.”
Elise, who seemed to like it quite a lot, twisted her body and carefully told me.
“I’m wet.”
“You crazy bitch!”
I unconsciously blurted out a curse and retreated behind Elise.
May asked what was going on, surprised as if she hadn’t heard Elise’s voice, but I couldn’t answer her.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“This won’t do. Are you avoiding it because you’re scared of poop or because it’s dirty?”
The moment I tried to walk straight to May.
Slurp.
“……”
Slurp.
I felt a strange sensation behind my back.
It was similar to the feeling I had when Rin smelled my sweat before.
When I slowly turned my head, wasn’t she licking the back of the hand I had just kissed?
I almost really lost consciousness.
To what extent, you ask? It was like I understood why the god of death wanted to destroy the world.
“You, come here.”
“Ah, no!”
In the end, I took out a handkerchief and thoroughly wiped the back of her hand, and Elise pouted with a tearful face.
“Hng.”
She looked like she was the one being wronged, making anyone who saw her think she was innocent.
“Tsk, you’re swayed by that crazy bitch and then come to me?”
“Didn’t you see her having a seizure just now?”
May was grumbling with her arms crossed, but when I actually approached her, she grinned and held out a candy.
“Eat it. They said I shouldn’t eat it.”
“……”
I received the candy and thanked her, trying to put it in my pocket, but May told me to eat it in front of her, so I put it in my mouth.
It was strawberry flavored.
“I won’t ask for unreasonable things like her.”
“Are you implying that you will ask for something?”
“Hm? Isn’t it obvious? After getting hurt like this?”
May lifted the blanket slightly, showing her bandaged leg.
When she brought it up like this, I had nothing to say, so I tightly closed my mouth.
“Kiss me.”
“……”
“That’s why I told you to eat the candy. Strawberry flavor is ideal for our first kiss, right?”
Without realizing it, I bit into the still-unmelted hard candy with force.
Didn’t she just say she wouldn’t ask for unreasonable things?
“You think I’ll do it?”
“Tsk.”
With a disappointed expression, May pondered and spoke again.
“Then how about a peck?”
“I’m leaving.”
“Ah, okay! Okay! Tsk, I honestly thought this much would be possible.”
Is she serious?
I wondered if she hit her head too. I carefully examined to see if she had bandages wrapped around her forehead.
“Then hug me.”
“Sigh.”
That much is fine.
Friends hug each other too, don’t they?
Wanting to get it over with quickly, I hugged May just like that.
At first, May slightly trembled as if surprised, but soon she put her hands on my back.
I thought she wouldn’t have been able to wash properly since she was in the hospital, but I was a bit surprised that she had a surprisingly sweet scent.
Is this also because of the candy?
“Nice.”
May, feeling my warmth.
“Let go.”
As I tried to pull away, May held onto me tightly, but when I spoke, she finally let go with reluctance.
“Actually, this isn’t what I meant.”
May tidied herself up with a smack and spoke.
“Huh?”
She asked me to hug her, so I hugged her. What else is there?
But Elise, who was watching us from the other side with great annoyance, said,
“Some people use the phrase ‘hug me’ as a euphemism for wanting to have sex. It’s a rather elegant expression, it doesn’t suit May.”
“……”
I gaped at May with my mouth wide open, and she flapped her clothes with a devilish smile and pose.
“Retry?”
I need to get out of here.
As I recited Eris’ name three times in my mind and stepped back, May unexpectedly wrapped herself in the blanket and turned her body to the other side.
“Although you couldn’t grant my wish, I’ll let it slide for today…… It’s more overwhelming than I thought just with this.”
May whispered as if hiding her reddened face, even up to her ears.
For a moment, I found her curled-up appearance cute, but I still didn’t pat her head or anything and immediately left.
[T/N: May ship foreverβ¦]
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