Not Mentally Prepared Yet
I'm not mentally prepared yet. In the quiet kitchen, as I was slicing bell peppers with flashy knife work, I dropped the kitchen knife to the floor with a clang.
A voice laced with irritation slipped out of my mouth.
"Ah…. Not again."
I looked at my left hand, which had been holding the bell pepper. It was perfectly fine, without even a small scratch. Luckily, the hand gripping the pepper hadn't been hurt. If it had veered off even a little, it could've been serious, but seeing all five fingers intact on my left hand, I let out a sigh of relief.
After confirming my left hand was safe, I turned my attention to the problematic right hand. It was trembling faintly.
"Haa."
A sigh escaped me naturally. It happens sometimes. Times when my right hand ignores me without warning. Not often, just very occasionally. My right hand stops listening to me. Not like some black flame dragon or another ego is hiding inside it or anything. From the fingertips all the way up my right arm, it stiffens rigidly and won't move.
I stared at my right hand, which was quivering faintly. No matter how hard I tried to clench my fingers into a fist, it wouldn't budge an inch. A hollow laugh escaped me.
"This is really no joke."
It was a side effect from when I saved the lady after her black magic failure, and it just wouldn't heal. Sometimes pain would surge through it. On really bad days, it felt like my arm was going to snap off. But it wasn't something to worry about too much. It didn't happen often. Plus, it was boosting my black magic resistance, which was a good thing.
Black Magic Resistance suppresses Necrosis.
I thought of it as an investment for the future.
Tsk… But today, it hurt especially bad.
"Fuck."
I collapsed into a crouch in the corner of the kitchen. Hugging my trembling right hand and curling up made the pain a bit more bearable. It hurt. How to describe it? Like bugs burrowing into and eating away at my flesh? Yeah, that nailed it. I gritted my teeth hard. Worried a sound might leak out, I held my breath and waited for the pain to pass. Even though I'd endured it dozens of times, I still couldn't get used to it. My body trembled faintly, and my lips went dry.
"Hoo…. Hang in there…. Hang in there."
I strained not to scream. I didn't want to worry the lady upstairs over nothing. It was really no big deal. Just a little pain. Pain I could definitely endure. It was fine.
In the lady's room on the second floor, after preparing the meal and coming up, I gave an awkward smile as I looked at the steak that had burned pitch-black.
"Hahaha…."
"…What is this?"
The lady asked me. She seemed genuinely curious. And who could blame her? The steak had forgotten its duty as meat and turned into a lump of pitch-black charcoal. I'd been stuck in the kitchen corner, completely forgetting I'd left the meat on the fire, and unfortunately, there were no spare cuts, so I'd brought this up carefully anyway.
The lady asked me.
"Charcoal?"
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. Normally, her butler served proper meals, but now he'd brought something even a person couldn't eat. How ridiculous must she feel? Especially at 9 p.m. I felt sorry for giving this rock to the lady, who must be starving, but with no extra meat, I couldn't remake it.
I said, infusing my words with apology.
"This is tonight's dinner."
"Oh…?"
The lady's head filled with question marks.
"Dinner?"
Once she grasped the tragic situation, she put an exclamation point over her head and said.
"Aha. Jerky, right?"
I shook my head.
"Steak made from beef short ribs."
"Oh…."
The lady brought her nose close to the plate. She sniffed it, tilting her head.
"Hmm."
She stroked her chin once. Thought seriously for a moment.
Poke. She poked it with her finger and licked it.
Scrape. She scraped off a tiny bit and savored it in her mouth.
The lady nodded. She'd reached a conclusion. With a more serious expression than ever, she said to me once more.
"…Dinner?"
I nodded.
"Unfortunately, yes."
Stare. The lady looked back at the plate. Checking if there was any edible part, probably. She said.
"If I eat this, I'll die."
"You won't die. We've eaten cozy poisonous mushroom soup together before, and you're still fine, aren't you?"
"That one was pretty."
"This one's pretty too, if you look closely."
I said, gazing at the meat burned blacker than the charcoal. Still, if I excavated diligently with a knife, maybe I'd find something edible. Plus, the bell peppers and broccoli weren't burned. If there was nothing else, she could eat those.
The lady insisted again.
"Eat this and die."
"You won't die."
"I'll die."
"Guess there's no helping it then."
Seeing me sigh, the lady's eyes widened. I'm human too, so I mess up cooking sometimes. Whenever that happened, I'd get her favorite cake or bring takeout from the bustling streets. Knowing that, she was looking at me with eyes full of expectation.
"Chocolate cake?"
"No way."
"Then?"
In response to her intense anticipation, I speared a fresh bell pepper on the fork.
Pffft. In that instant, the lady's face twisted.
"Why bell peppers?"
"They're fresh and delicious."
"Those?"
"Yes."
She thought it would've been better to eat the charcoal-smudged meat instead. "Ah, just eat it yourself."
Whoosh. The lady turned her head away fiercely.
"No."
I raised the fork, making a "Whiii~ Airplane coming in!" sound, and launched Bell Pepper No. 1. Destination: the lady's mouth.
"No."
This time, she clamped her mouth shut, refusing the meal. She glared at me with bratty eyes; I wanted to flick her forehead. Kids back home usually ate when you did the airplane bit. Guess this world doesn't have airplanes, so it didn't work.
I picked up the fork again. Maybe if I referenced something from this world, it'd be different. Gauging common ground, I launched No. 2.
"Whiii~ Dragon incoming!"
Thud. With a small hand gesture, the lady shot down Dragon No. 2. In an instant, she'd become a dragon slayer.
The lady smiled proudly.
"I caught the evil dragon."
"Oh…!"
I looked at Dragon No. 2, which had crashed limply to the floor. The bell pepper that hadn't even reached its target and died heroically looked pitiful.
Looking at the crash-landed bell pepper, the lady said.
"I'm a dragon slayer."
Hmph. She'd seen through my petty trick with a scoff. Guess these tricks don't work anymore….
I pulled out a new fork. I'd prepared dozens, knowing this might happen.
"Being picky is bad."
"It's fine. That was an evil bell pepper dragon."
"Bell peppers aren't evil dragons. They're actually kind dragons that protect your health."
"No. They're evil."
The lady furrowed her brow.
"They don't taste good."
The lady hated bell peppers. She said she disliked their unique fishy taste, but I couldn't understand why. They were crisp and delicious…. Actually, I hate them too.
For the purpose of clearing leftovers into her mouth, I launched No. 3.
"Ah, eat it yourself."
"Refused."
"I refuse too."
I shoved it into the lady's mouth.
"Urk."
"Don't spit it out."
"Why?"
"Because bell peppers are healthy."
"My mind isn't healthy."
"The bell pepper will take care of that."
She tried to spit it out without chewing. I grabbed her chin and made her chew it up. Her kitten punch flew at me, but it didn't hurt, so it was fine.
Gulp. After swallowing the bell pepper, the lady picked up a fork. I thought she was grabbing it to throw, but contrary to expectations, she was skewering the bell peppers and broccoli on the plate.
Poke. Poke. Poke. Did it suit her taste more than expected? Just as I thought No. 3 had matured her palate.
"Ah."
The lady held out the fork toward me.
"You eat this too, Ricardo."
"I'm grateful you're offering, but this is a bit much, isn't it?"
The lady said to me with cold eyes.
"You need to stay healthy."
"I'm healthy enough."
"Healthier."
"But feeding me only bell peppers is abuse. I should report this to the Butler Human Rights Commission."
The lady's eyes widened.
"That exists?"
"No, it doesn't."
The lady threw the fork. After our little skirmish, we finished the meal with me giving her chocolate cake.
The lady yawned, lying down languidly. I sat by her bedside, stroking her hair.
"Miss."
"Yeah?"
"Do you know I'm off on vacation starting tomorrow?"
The lady nodded. She remembered my vacation. I'd mentioned it thinking she might've forgotten, but she hadn't, which I was grateful for. I needed to bring back lots of expensive stuff from the dungeon this time. Worry and anticipation churned in my heart.
The lady said to me.
"Come back safe."
"Yes."
"I told you, right? Watch out for bad guys, and don't follow anyone who offers you tasty food."
"I know."
The lady seemed worried about me. Wondering if I could survive this harsh world alone. We were both worried about each other, it seemed.
"And…."
The lady took my hand. She looked at it with wistful eyes, stroking the back of my hand and biting her lower lip. The lady was quiet for a moment.
"Um…."
She stuttered once more before saying.
"When you get back from vacation, there's something I want to ask you."
"Something you want to ask?"
"Yeah."
The lady clenched her fist tightly. It seemed like something hard to answer. Was she going to ask if I had a girlfriend? If it was that, she could ask now. Past life or this one, I'm a total loner.
I said to the lady.
"Why not ask now?"
The lady shook her head.
"Not yet. I'm not mentally prepared."
"Mentally prepared?"
Looking into space, the lady said.
"Yeah. Not quite yet."
Time flew by. I said goodbye to the lady staying at the mansion, gave the maid a generous bonus, and asked her to take good care. The most important instruction: one chocolate a day. No more than that. I didn't forget to emphasize it.
After parting with the maid, I set off immediately. And now, I'd reached the summit of the Hamel Mountains.
The wide-open view cleared my chest, fresh air filling my lungs. The cool breeze tousled my hair, making me feel like I was truly on vacation. Gotta shake it off quick and head back.
Just as I thought that and moved to find the dungeon entrance.
"Well, if it isn't who?"
A familiar voice rang out.