Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: #6 Nursing Care (1)
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“Then I shall take my leave.”
Aldio bowed politely and departed.
Elric’s gaze remained fixed on the bruise over Luton’s eye.
Sensing that look, Luton deepened his playful smile and spoke.
“Ah? This? As expected, a blacksmith’s punches don’t lose their touch! It hurt right down to my bones.”
Kahaha—there wasn’t a hint of shadow in his laughter.
That only made Elric feel even deeper remorse.
“I have no face to show you. At the time, my mind was in such a rush…”
“What’s this between friends? You can ask for favors like that. It even brought back old memories, which was nice.”
Elric let out a wry chuckle.
He knew exactly what “old times” Luton was referring to.
—Boss! Hit me once! Starting today, it’s endurance training!
—Sure!
—Aaack! That was too hard!
—Oh, sorry.
The two had nurtured dreams of knighthood since the past.
Elric wanted to be a knight standing at the forefront of the battlefield, sword held high, while Luton aspired to be a sturdy knight holding a shield firm before the castle walls.
To that end, they’d often dismissed one-sided beatings disguised as spars as mere training.
Thinking back on those days made it all the more poignant.
Luton always had bruises on his body, and Elric’s wooden sword was crusted with blood.
“…Hm, recalling the old days only makes me feel sorrier.”
“It was good experience for me. Thanks to that, even when I got beaten by my seniors during training, I didn’t think about the pain. They couldn’t hit like you, Boss.”
His joking demeanor was truly appreciated.
No, there was something even more grateful.
“You’re not asking anything.”
“Hm?”
“About my sword. Or what I’ve done over the past ten years, or why I’ve been hiding my strength—none of it.”
If their positions were reversed, Elric would have clung relentlessly to hear the truth from Luton.
He might have vented frustration, asking if Luton wouldn’t even tell a friend such things.
Yet here he was, full of questions no doubt, but asking nothing and facing him with a smiling face.
“You planning not to ask?”
If Luton truly wanted to know, Elric was prepared to tell him everything.
The question hung in the air, followed by silence.
Luton wiped the playfulness from his face and smiled softly.
“Yeah, I won’t ask.”
Elric’s eyes widened.
Luton continued.
“There’s got to be a reason you’re hiding it, right, Boss? I’m the type who thinks a man’s secrets should be kept.”
In that moment, Elric felt a swell of emotion rising within him.
“Do you remember when we were nine? The day you came with your cheek all swollen.”
“…I remember.”
“That day too. You didn’t want anyone knowing your father had slapped you, so you lied and said you’d beaten some noble kid from the next village half to death. We didn’t ask anything. We only heard the truth when we were twelve?”
“…Yeah.”
Elric’s voice grew hoarse.
Luton burst into hearty laughter.
“It’s not just me—everyone’s the same. We know. You don’t tell others about things that are too hard for you to bear alone. So we just wait.”
Ah, so that’s it.
Elric suddenly realized.
What truly soothed his killing intent wasn’t the pastoral charm of Weibin or anything like that.
“I’ll quietly cheer you on until that thing doesn’t bother you anymore, Boss. So when that day comes, tell me about the past ten years. Blow it up big, like a hero’s tale.”
He was human.
Not a bond tied by a few gold coins or mere transactions, but one of trust.
The warmth of humanity that Elric had forgotten over the long years was what weakened him.
For some reason feeling so sentimental, Elric felt his eyes grow hot.
“Ah, don’t cry. It’s embarrassing between men. Besides, crying doesn’t suit you, Boss. It’s kinda unpleasant to look at.”
At Luton’s cackling laughter, Elric bit his lip hard to swallow back the tears.
Then he let out a hearty laugh of his own.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Your speech really sounds like an old man’s now.”
“I’ll tell you that story later too.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Luton replied thus and rose from his seat.
“I’ll head out now. Once I return to Gideon, I won’t be back for a while. There’s a pile of work waiting there too.”
“Why not stay longer?”
“The longer the farewell, the more it aches. Besides, this isn’t our last meeting, right? I can drop by next time.”
Elric’s fingertips twitched involuntarily.
Hearing him speak so casually of the future only amplified the hesitation that had always lingered in Elric’s heart.
Unwilling to let that show, Elric forced a smile.
Luton suddenly flashed a sly grin and broached the subject obliquely.
“Hm, by then, can I see the nephew too?”
“Nephew?”
“Your kid would be my nephew.”
One, two, three.
Only after counting exactly that did Elric grasp Luton’s meaning.
His face flushed like an active volcano.
“W-what are you talking about!”
“Ow, why yell? You’re a noble now, Boss. Not making an heir?”
Luton asked in a tone full of innocent puzzlement.
Elric’s lips flapped wordlessly.
An heir meant he’d have to do this and that with Tiria, didn’t it?
As his imagination veered into unwanted directions, Elric dry-washed his face.
Oblivious, Luton prattled on.
“Wasn’t it you who said back then? You’d have ten kids and form the Elric Knights…”
“When was that supposed to be?”
“When we were ten, so fourteen years ago.”
“Yeah, talk from when we knew nothing.”
Urgh, Elric groaned.
His face burned so hot it wouldn’t calm down.
“Why drag up every silly thing we said as kids?”
“Why not? You two seem close. And that one Blade Wolf corpse you left intact this time—wasn’t that for a gift to the Lady?”
He wasn’t wrong.
Among the Blade Wolves hunted in the snowy mountains, one had been taken as cleanly as possible to preserve its pelt.
Tiria’s worn fur cloak had bothered him.
But that was the extent of it.
Elric hadn’t attached any greater meaning.
“Tsk tsk, no need to be shy.”
Luton clicked his tongue.
Elric glared at him with fierce eyes.
“Get out.”
“Alright, see you next time.”
Waving his hand breezily, Luton departed.
His disheveled figure, departing as if just heading to the neighborhood well, didn’t suit someone embarking on a long journey.
Elric sighed.
“That guy never grows up.”
He was the last one to realize it wasn’t his place to say.
*
Several more days passed.
Tiria spent most of her days in sleep, and even when awake, she remained in a daze, unable to speak properly.
No, it was awkward to even call it fully awake.
She regained her senses precisely that morning.
She still had a slight fever, but the crisis had passed, leaving only stability.
She had opened her eyes while the maid was cleaning the room.
“M-Ma’am!”
As the rushing maid checked her body here and there, Tiria blinked.
Her body felt languid.
Her forehead was a bit hot, and her thoughts didn’t connect well.
But it wasn’t so bad she couldn’t move.
So Tiria asked.
“…How long have I been lying here? What of the work?”
Her memories of the interim were hazy, but even she could tell she’d been out of commission for quite some time.
Worried about the backlog, she inquired, and the maid made a tearful face.
“What kind of talk is that right after waking up?! Everyone was so worried!”
“Was it that bad?”
“Of course! The Master was extremely concerned too! He came by every day to nurse you before leaving!”
Tiria’s eyes flew wide.
She knew the “Master” referred to no one but Elric.
“…The Family Head?”
Truly?
Amazed, she asked, and the maid nodded vigorously.
“We were all on pins and needles, thinking what if the cold spread, but he wouldn’t listen right up to the end! Honestly! The Master’s stubbornness never changes?!”
She pounded her chest in frustration, which seemed genuine.
Tiria couldn’t believe it.
No, more precisely, she couldn’t fathom his intentions.
Amid that, a pathetically rising thought occurred.
‘He saw my sleeping face.’
Heat rushed to her face.
Her pupils trembled as if in an earthquake.
“Uh, uh? Ma’am’s face is getting redder… Eek! Your fever’s spiking!”
The maid jumped up in a fluster.
Even then, Tiria couldn’t escape her own world.
Shame made her tremble.
She worried first if she’d looked unseemly.
Just as the urge to check a mirror filled her entirely, the maid flung open the door in haste.
That was the moment.
“I’ll fetch a damp cloth at least…”
Clack—!
“What’s with the commotion?”
Tiria and the maid’s heads turned toward the door in unison.
“M-Master?”
Elric stood there.
Perhaps from restless sleep, he looked a bit haggard.
Silence reigned for a moment, then Elric turned, and his eyes met Tiria’s.
“…Lady?”
A look of surprise settled over Elric’s face.