Two more years have passed since then, I turned six years old as summer arrived.
During those two years the only thing that changed is that my body has grown. The surrounding environment has had no major change at all.
As before, we were unable to get any books, and Milli is still the only person I am able to speak with. Recently it’s begun to seem as if Milli and I are the only people in this world.
Of course, Milli has tried to teach me everything she knows, such as general education, the geography of the surroundings, and difficult words, but I have almost learned everything she can teach me in just two years.
Because he was reincarnated in a different world with magic, he doubled in power through the combination of science and magic! I would like to have tried something like that.
The partner of my marriage of convenience will greatly affect my future….In the worst case, I think that I should throw away my family name and run away. Of course, if she would follow me, I’d take Milli as well.
For that reason – I do not let the days go to waste and recently it has become a routine to train my body.
I am not aiming to become completely ripped, so I will just try to tone my body. So the training routine consists of push ups, training my abdominal muscles, running laps around the interior of my building, etc.
And today, as usual I ran around inside of the building I was confined to, suddenly, I could hear a sobbing voice coming from somewhere nearby.
“……Is that the voice of a girl?”
Wow, it has been a long time since I heard a voice other than Milli’s, I can’t even tell if that really is the voice of a girl. Am I okay, have I started to develop some sort of disability?
While I am deep in thought, the sobbing voice can be heard the entire time. It’s coming from somewhere nearby, but is it from outside of the room…?
……It is useless. It will definitely be troublesome if I leave the room. It will definitely be annoying to Milli.
I decide to ignore the crying and walk away – I turn on my heel and take one step.
But, the crying voice is so full of sadness it’s impossible to ignore….
Ah, I’ve already started thinking of Saya when we lost our parents. It is useless, I would regret it forever if I ignored it now.
I guess it can’t be helped. If I get into any trouble, I’ll go apologize profusely to Milli afterwards.
Shrubbery surrounded the room I had been staying in. After I moved past the shrubs I could see a girl crying under a big tree with her arms holding her knees to her chest.
…… Why is she crying? Or rather, how can I talk to her?
How about…Hello? No, that’s not the best thing to say when someone is crying. Well then…do not cry? Well, if I did that suddenly I’d appear suspicious to the girl.
……Ah geeze! Even if I waste time thinking about it there’s one clear option. I’ll just act like I am a curious child.
“Why are you crying?”
“- Who’s there!?”
The girl lifted her face as I approached. I was left breathless after seeing her face.
She had a small face framed by platinum blonde hair which hung in loose waves past her shoulders, she had well-proportioned features, including her eyes of jade.
A girl, as beautiful as a porcelain doll, sat crying in front of me.
“……Who are you? What are you doing in a place like this?”
“I am sorry I surprised you, I could hear crying nearby, I was worried and came to see what was the matter.”
The moment I answered, the girl hurriedly wiped away her tears with the edge of her sleeves.
“I’m…I’m fine, nothing’s wrong”
“Ah, I wish I could believe that…”
I can tell she’s strong, shy, and chooses to hide her true feelings, but I’m used to this because Saya was also a stubborn girl. To avoid hurting the girl’s pride I avoided the subject.
I turn my eyes to look at her knee which had become visible just past the hem of her skirt.
“Is your knee injured?”
“……Eh? It is, it must have happened when I fell down earlier.”
Even though she was just crying….She’s still trying to hide it. That’s her hardcore stubbornness showing.
Please, it’s not like I’m going to be impressed by your stubbornness. She must have tripped on a patch of rough ground or loose soil. Bacteria may get into her wound if it’s left like this.
“For now, can you show me your leg?”
“Show you my leg…? What are you planning on doing to me?”
The girl saw where my eyes were looking and quickly closed her legs and pulled the hem of her skirt down. Even though she’s such a young girl, she is acting like a proper lady. Something like this is pleasing to look at from time to time.
“What are you smiling about? Ah, so you are planning on doing strange things to me?!”
“I’m sorry, it was a misunderstanding, I was just trying to get a look at your wound, it needs to be treated.”
“Treated? I don’t need anything like that, if it’s just about this injury, it will heal quickly if it’s left alone.”
The girl removes the soil from her wound by hand…….really, just that much?
“Won’t it become infected if it’s left like that?”
“Huh…..what is that?”
“Well, germs may get in and cause inflammation……this will cause the wounds to become more severe or possibly cause scarring.”
The girl is beginning to seem more and more puzzled, and I can tell she can only come to one conclusion. At that moment she began to move her eyes uneasily.
“……Will it really be that bad?”
“Well, even in the worst case scenario it would only leave a little scarring, but it’s such a beautiful leg, so isn’t it a waste to leave even a small scar?”
“Wha-wha-wha-what did you just say?!”
“Huh, did I say something strange?”
“You say weird stuff like I’m beautiful a little while ago……—it’s nothing!”
“…………huh?”
So this is about me saying her leg is beautiful….Well good. I wasn’t lying, her figure would be good enough to be a child model for the cover of a magazine.
“Well, then what should I do?”
“Eh, how to debut as a child model?”
“……Child model? What is that?”
“Eh, sorry, sorry. I can just quickly treat the wound. I think it will be fine if I just clean it out.”
“Clean it…how can you do that without any water?”
“If it’s just water, I have some.”
That is, I took out a small water bottle I had made using bamboo. I carried it around while running, but it seemed useful in surprising places.
“So, will you show me the wound?”
“Okay, I understand. But, I will not forgive you if you do any strange things!”
“I promise you, okay?”
I look straight into the girl’s eyes. Still she seemed a bit worried, but eventually she lifted her skirt a bit and showed me her knee.
Wow. A blonde, beautiful girl rolling up her skirt while revealing an embarrassing expression….I felt like I was seeing something wrong.
Why am I thinking about stupid things? She trusted me and put out her leg, I will finish the treatment quickly.
“Please, hold still.”
I clean the wound lightly while paying attention so as to avoid getting her skirt wet.
“…….”
“Okay, let it soak for a little while.”
“….You’re taking too long!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”
That reminds me, she started crying because she fell down. So, is she close to crying again? When I looked up at the girl’s face, our eyes met each other.
“…..What?”
“No, that……I was just wondering if you were okay”
“I was a little surprised, but I didn’t even notice the pain.”
“Ah, of course not.”
She seems like a very obstinate person. Maybe she doesn’t want to complain to a person she only just met.
“… I’ll only tell you this once, I was not crying. Understand?
“Yes, I get it.”
“You’re wrong, you’re absolutely misunderstanding.”
“It’s fine, I won’t tell anyone.”
“Hey, you’re still misunderstanding me! I wasn’t crying because I fell down!”
“…Well, that means you were crying for some other reason?”
“I’ve been saying that for a while now!”
This girl acts miserably when answering–but,
“I’m not trying to hide the fact that I was crying, okay?”
“……I see…but it’s easy for me to misunderstand… I am looking at you crying near the place that you fell down…it’s a given that I would assume as much.”
Oh, I’ve made her start sulking. She looks cute scowling at me like this — not, but somehow I could understand the girl’s complaint.
In other words, it means that there was something sad that made her cry, is that it?
“If you’d like can you talk about it?”
“…..Eh?”
“There was something painful that made you cry, don’t you want to talk about it with someone?”
“That is……”
At my question, the girl got silent and seemed lost in thought. If I were in her situation I’d like someone to talk to, but I guess her pride doesn’t allow her to talk with others about it.
It would be a lie if I said that I didn’t mind, but it is not good to force her to talk about it. So, I resume treatment on her knee as if nothing had happened.
I cleaned the wound and wrapped a handkerchief around it.
“Yes, this is fine, but get it treated properly when you return home.”
I say so and look at the girl’s face. But, her face went stiff when our eyes met.
“……is something wrong?”
“Eh? uh! It’s nothing!”
“Really? It looks like your face is red.”
“- Never mind! Thank you for taking care of me, thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“My name is Claire Ridill, Claire Ridill Grances, I want to thank you properly, so can you tell me your name?”
“…..Grances?”
Ah…so she is? Because it was a girl a little older than myself I thought it possible, but she is my older sister.
I thought that I would like to see her someday, but…I did not expect to see her so soon. What should I do? My heart isn’t ready for this.
“What’s wrong?”
“Er, that……You have already thanked me, so it isn’t necessary for you to do it again.”
“Do not worry about that, it is only natural for a lady to properly return the favor, so why won’t you tell me your name?”
“My name is……that is…”
Oh damn it. It has come this far. There is no reason to lie or come up with a fake name. I’ll introduce myself honestly, it is better than having the truth exposed later.
“My name is Leon.”
“…Leon, is it?”
“I don’t really know how to respond to that, but I think that is right.”
“is that so……”
Claire Ridill makes a somewhat embarrassing expression, when I remember I have been told that her and I must not get along.
Who else would say something like this. It was Caroline, the mother of Claire Ridill.
I thought I would be able to talk with new people. Claire Ridill herself seems to not have a disgusting feeling towards me…I wonder if we can get along somehow?
I tried to think of a way for us to get along, but I quickly lost my chance. I heard a voice of a woman calling Claire’s name from somewhere.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Wait a moment, you didn’t finish your story yet.”
“I’m sorry…Actually I don’t want to leave, but it would be nice to keep it a secret that I was here.”
As soon as she said that, she immediately left this place. Shortly afterwards, Claire Ridill and the woman’s voice could be heard from nearby.
“Hah…that was close.”
If a maid found us together Caroline would certainly hear about it shortly afterward.
After hearing Claire Ridill speak to the maid the potential crisis left my mind – and I ran breathlessly to the safety of my building.
However――
“Leon-sama, where have you been?”
The greatest crisis has only just begun.
“Well, it’s not what it looks like, Milli, it’s a misunderstanding!”
“……I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”
“Guu……”
Oh my god, she’s looking at me with such terrifying eyes. I have to come up with some excuse. Well, it is true that I broke my promise with Milli, so should I be honest here?
At least let me prepare my heart!
“It is unusual for Leon-sama to be so perturbed. Where in the world did you go? By all means, could you let me know?”
“Well, that is…….Milli is very important to me, so I do not want to say anything that may cause you trouble.”
“I understand, so you went to a place that would bother me?”
“…………………”
No matter what I say, I feel like I’m digging my own grave. Let’s honestly talk about it and I’ll sincerely apologize to her. I don’t want a repeat of the previous incident with Milli.
“……I understand the situation.”
Milli finished listening and let out a small sigh. Then, Milli got down on her knees, so our eyes would be level. She suddenly raised her right hand.
She’s going to slap me! I brace myself and close my eyes. However, the impact never came, instead her hand began to gently stroke my head.
“….Milli?”
I was surprised when I opened my eyes and I saw Milli’s loving expression.
“You really are an idiot, Leon-sama.”
“…… I know that, even without you saying it, but I can’t help it. I could not leave a girl crying all alone.”
“You’re even calling yourself an idiot, I can not scold Leon-sama who only acted to help a girl who was crying”
“…….Why? If I get caught sneaking out, Milli would be scolded, right?”
“Well….In the worst case, I may be fired.”
“Wow, wait a moment, would there really be such severe punishment!?”
“Unfortunately……It is a possibility. But due to the circumstances this time, it should be fine. Even if it’s not okay, I hope they’d punish me in a more lenient way.”
“…Wow, I really am sorry.”
“It’s okay, there’s a possibility that Claire Ridill will be silent, isn’t there?”
“That…….Yeah, I think there is a possibility.”
I remember Claire Ridill’s parting words and respond like that.
However, I was not thinking about the possibility that Milli might be kicked out. If I knew there would be such serious consequences, I wouldn’t have risked it in the first place…..After having met Claire Ridill, I’m not sure I can say that.
I think that it was a mistake to inconvenience Milli, but I don’t think it was a mistake to help Claire Ridill, who was crying.
……What should I do?
I fell silent worrying about this. Milli gently hugged my head.
“I told you beforehand, I am always by your side Leon-sama. If Leon-sama did the right thing and it will result in me being punished, I will gladly accept it.”
“…… Milli, I’m sorry.”
As Milli held me in her arms I swore to become strong. Not just to protect myself, but to protect the things most precious to me.
Just thought I’d add a small note here in case there is any confusion over the room/building Leon is confined to. I incorrectly translated this to just ‘room’ in the first chapter. A more accurate translation would be something like ‘detached room.’
The closest equivalent I can think of is a pool house. Just remove the pool and add more foliage. I considered calling it a guest house, but that sounds too accommodating considering Leon’s situation. So, I’ve decided to just refer to it as ‘building’ from now on. If anyone can think of a better word please let me know.
