Chapter 78: Only They Know
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: Only They Know
“Ah, Sera! Tresha’s here too.”
Beneath the long coat draped over his broad shoulders, a black vest sat tight against his broad, masculine chest. Between the top buttons left undone in the warm spring sunlight and his neatly styled hair—a sharp contrast to his usual swept-back look—he looked different.
Perhaps it was the joy of seeing them after so long, but he even wore a faint, refreshing smile they rarely saw.
“Hmm? What’s with this reaction?”
Sera and Tresha, who had been leaning on each other, could only stare blankly as Yoo Eon stepped down from the carriage. Their faces were dazed, and Tresha’s mouth was hanging wide open.
“Haha, Tresha. You’ll catch a fly like that.”
It was only after a hand clad in a high-quality glove gently pushed Tresha’s jaw shut that Sera finally snapped out of it.
“W-wait a second…! Yoo Eon, it really is you, right…?”
“Yes. Of course, Sera. I told you it’s me.”
“Huuu…”
Sera took a quick look around just in case, and sure enough, Yoo Eon was drawing the gaze of every neighbor in sight.
“H-hurry, get inside…!”
“Whoa.”
Between Tresha’s idiotic expression and Yoo Eon looking somehow more dangerous than usual today, Sera quickly shoved them into the inn and slammed the door shut.
“Oho? Look who it is. Isn't it the young man?”
“Ah, Father. I just got back.”
In the dining area was Roland, who had been in the middle of stealing the juice Sera was drinking. He looked Yoo Eon up and down and nodded.
“Ooh, is tonight the wedding night?”
“Pardon…?”
“Dad! Just go to your room already!”
“Eek, alright! I’m taking the juice with me!”
“I don’t care, just go!”
* * *
Once her playful father was chased away by Sera’s "eviction notice," only three of us remained in the first-floor dining area: Tresha, Sera, and me.
“Sera, has everything been alright? I kept you waiting too long. I even said I’d be back for dinner.”
“Y-yes, you did!”
“You too, Tresha. Did you visit your future master? I gave you the address.”
“I went…! Walter went with me, and he’s still there now….”
“Oh, really? I wonder if she’s making him something.”
Yes, this was it. The expensive bed had been nice, and the food at the famous restaurant was great, but nothing beat this. This comfortable, homey scent—the kind of feeling where it somehow smells delicious even when no one is cooking.
When I went clothes shopping with Theodora, it had been night and the weather was chilly, so I had worn a thick coat. But the weather must have cleared up while I was resting, because the afternoon was quite warm.
As I moved to take off my coat and gloves to set them on the table, Sera rushed over and grabbed them.
“Y-Yoo Eon! Shall we go up to the second floor…!?”
“Hmm? Is there something on the second floor?”
“Your clothes! Th-they look so expensive… I thought you should change into something comfortable right away…!”
“Ah, right.”
True, the clothes were the biggest issue. There’s a difference between clothes that are physically comfortable and clothes that make your mind feel at ease. It wasn’t that my usual clothes didn't fit or were uncomfortable.
When you’re home, being in comfortable attire is the best.
“S-Sis… I’m going to my room for a bit….”
With that, Tresha suddenly hung her head and ran to her room. What was that? Did she not like her new master? She wasn't sulking, was she?
Iris is a bit of a strange person, but I don't really know any other mages. This is why networking is so important.
“Ah, Sera. Give me the coat. I’ll carry it.”
“N-no! It’s fine! I’ll carry it, so let’s go up to the second floor together!”
“I really don’t mind.”
It seemed Sera was just as happy to see me as I was to see her. She looked genuinely delighted.
We walked up to the second floor side-by-side in silence. My room at the end of the hall was incredibly tidy since no one had slept in it for three days, but strangely, it smelled faintly of Sera.
“Sera, did you happen to come into my room?”
“Eek. Th-that is…!”
“Ah, now that I think about it, you’d have to come in to make the bed and tidy up.”
Even my laundry was folded, and all the items I usually left scattered about were neatly in their places. Sera must have cursed me out while cleaning this up.
It was only manageable because I didn't have many belongings to begin with. If I had really made a mess, I might have gotten a slap across the cheek.
“Thank you, Sera.”
“N-no, it’s nothing….”
“But, I’m about to change. Are you going to stay here?”
“No! I-I should go!”
“Alright. I’ll change quickly and come out.”
“Mhm…!”
After changing into comfortable clothes and opening the door, I found Sera with her nose buried in the collar of my coat. I’d only worn it for a few hours and hadn't even broken a sweat, so it shouldn't have smelled like much.
Sera really can’t stand it when clothes smell, though.
“Sera?”
“Yes! Yes!?”
“Does the coat smell that bad? I barely wore it.”
“I-it doesn’t! I don’t think it even needs washing yet!?”
“Then give it here. I’ll hang it up in my room.”
Sera nodded vigorously and handed me the gloves and coat. That was the end of the wardrobe change. As expected, expensive clothes just made me feel uneasy. It felt like the clothes were wearing me rather than the other way around.
Cheap, functional clothing is the most comfortable. The Mounted Goat Inn is my home, and one should live comfortably at home.
“Did you have lunch, Sera? I haven't eaten a single meal today because I was looking forward to the food you make.”
“Really?! Then I’ll go make something right away!”
“No, don’t rush. Just take your time.”
It’s not like running would save more than a few seconds. I caught Sera as she tried to dash down to the first floor and walked with her. Her reactions were a bit strange today. Her face was flushed—I wondered if she had caught a cold.
“Sera, are you feeling okay?”
“Feeling okay..? I-I feel perfectly fine….”
“That’s strange. Your face is all red.”
She was stuttering a bit, and her voice sounded small. When I placed my hand on her cheek, it felt quite hot. Something was definitely wrong.
“Man, it’s obvious you have a cold. Did you sleep without a blanket just because the weather got warmer?”
“I-I told you, it’s not like that….”
“Whew. You have to take care of yourself. This won't do. You need to lie down.”
“No, I’m really fine! Y-Yoo Eon, you need to eat too…!?”
“I’m fine.”
Since Sera shared a room with Tresha, it would be difficult to have her lie down there while sick. Even if she recovered, the cold virus would linger in the room, and Tresha wouldn't be able to use it for a while.
In times like this, it was better to give her my room since I have a sturdy constitution. I didn't know when a guest might take the vacant rooms, and besides, the bedding in the vacant rooms had that slightly musty smell even after washing because they were rotated.
I’d been using the bedding and bed in my room consistently for three months now.
“Alright, let’s head back.”
“Kyaa?! W-wait a second, Yoo Eon?!”
I’m not such a scoundrel that I’d demand a sick person cook for me just because I’m hungry. Thin girls like Sera tend to stay sick for a long time once they catch a cold, so I had to be careful.
Creeak—
I hoisted Sera up over my shoulder, carried her back to my room, and laid her on the bed. When I threatened to do something "naughty" if she didn't stay still, her face turned bright red, and she scurried under the covers.
It must be a really bad cold.
“Wait here. I’ll go get your pajamas from your room.”
“U-uh-huh. Okay….”
When I went down to the first floor, Father and Auntie were sitting across from each other at a table, peeling potatoes. Auntie, who was an expert with a knife, was performing miracles—the potatoes were stripped bare the moment they touched her blade.
On the other hand, looking at the thickness of the potato flesh still attached to the skins in Father’s hands, his loss rate appeared to be nearly 70 percent.
“Auntie, Sera caught a cold.”
“Is that so? She seemed fine this morning.”
“I put her in my room on the second floor. I didn't want her to pass it to Tresha since you need her help, so I had her lie down in my bed.”
“Young man! Do we have to go sleep at another inn tonight?”
“Well… you don’t have to go that far….”
Father’s body was currently that of a child, so he did need to be careful not to catch it. It’s hard on kids when they get sick. But going to another inn? Probably unnecessary.
Perhaps because he was doing such a terrible job peeling, Father got smacked with a hard, raw potato. I headed toward Sera’s room to grab her pajamas.
‘I told Sera, so it should be fine to go in.’
Thud!
I swung the door open to find Tresha huddled under her blankets, groaning.
“Oh, Tresha. Do you have a cold too?”
“B-Brother?! How can you just come in without knocking?!!”
“R-right… sorry. I just came to get Sera’s pajamas.”
“There! They’re over there, so just take them!”
Tresha, who only poked her hand out from under the blanket to point at the pajamas, grumbled away. She really must be sulking because she didn't like Iris.
“Tresha…? Should I find you a different master…?”
“Huh? Why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?”
“No, I mean. Do you like your master?”
“Lady Albresto is fine.”
“I-is that so….”
Tresha was being unusually sharp for some unknown reason. I wondered if something had happened while I was away. Or was it because of Walter? She said she left Walter at the magic item shop. Maybe she felt lonely because her favorite doll, which she always held, was gone.
After finally securing the baggy ivory one-piece pajamas, I went back up to the second floor to find Sera lying there with the blanket pulled up over her face.
“Sera? I brought your pajamas. Wouldn't it be more comfortable to change before you sleep?”
“Ah, pajamas… okay.”
“I’ll take your clothes back to your room, so tell me when you’re changed.”
Once she changed into her pajamas, Sera lay comfortably in the bed. She looked a bit better now.
“Did you do all the housework this morning even though you had a cold?”
“Well… I guess you could say I just toughed it out….”
“I told you, you shouldn't do that. You have to take care of your body.”
“O-okay….”
“I’ll help Auntie today, so you just lie here and rest until tomorrow morning.”
“Mhm….”
* * *
And so, Sera, who had been mistaken for having a cold, stayed in Yoo Eon’s room. Late that night, left alone, she breathed in the scent of Yoo Eon’s clothes and engaged in a rare, intense act of self-bliss. Her temperature skyrocketed, she kicked off the blankets, and she eventually fell asleep drenched in sweat.
The fact that she actually caught a cold the next day was something only Sera herself knew.
“Sera, your cold got worse.”
“I’m sorry….”