Chapter 298 Happy Girl
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The news came while I was having breakfast.
”Has that person woken up?”
”Yeah. Diana’s handling it right now.”
”I see… then I should—”
”Wait.”
Lewya stopped me just as I was about to get up.
”Don’t rush. Diana’s listening, and she said to make sure you finish breakfast properly. Also, if you’re going to the room, take Sia with you as a guard.”
”Does that mean they’re dangerous?”
”No. I spoke with Diana briefly, and I didn’t get that impression at all. But since it’s Lycus, it’s just a precaution. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be sitting here chatting leisurely while leaving Diana alone.”
”Got it… Can you call Sia now, then?”
”I already sent someone. Should be enough time to finish breakfast slowly.”
Persuaded by Lewya, I sat back down, but my nerves made me eat too fast. Soon, I had nothing to do with my hands.
”No matter how fast you eat, you can’t go until Sia arrives.”
”I know, I know.”
”Wouldn’t it be enough to just hear from Diana instead of going yourself?”
”I trust Diana, but some things you have to hear firsthand. Especially someone’s character—just hearing about it doesn’t tell you everything. I need to know who I’m dealing with to make the right call. Any decision about them is mine, so I want to minimize the chance of a wrong choice.”
”Tch. I thought you were starting to rely on us lately.”
”Relying and being dependent are different. As someone in charge of the frontier settlement, I want to do what I can.”
While talking to Lewya, we waited for Sia, who arrived thirty minutes later, yawning beside me, clearly not a morning person.
”Faaah—ugh… why am I being dragged out this early? And why do I have to be a guard by default?”
”Haha… sorry.”
Trying to calm a grumpy, just-woken-up Sia, we headed toward Lycus’s room, where Diana waited by the door.
”Diana, you’ve been waiting outside?”
”Yes, I wanted to make sure Sia came along.”
”…I’m still not entirely trusted, huh?”
”Think back on your own actions.”
Without another word, Diana opened the door.
”Excuse me—”
I peeked inside slowly to avoid startling anyone, but the scene made me freeze.
”Ah… Neil-sama.”
It was Narsht, and my question of why he was here vanished the moment I saw the next thing.
Our eyes met—a woman stuffing her cheeks with a sandwich, already preparing the next one with her right hand. Awkward silence. She suddenly swallowed and tried to shove the next sandwich in.
”Hey, put that down for a second!”
I couldn’t help blurting out, and she flinched, frozen again.
”First, swallow what’s in your mouth,” I prompted.
Slowly, she chewed and swallowed, eyeing me cautiously.
”Nguh—s-sorry!”
”No… is that sandwich yours, Narsht-san?”
I asked, noticing the remaining basket.
”Yes. Yesterday, I overheard Jott talking in the dining hall. Lycus must be starving if they skip a meal. Sorry for taking liberties.”
”No, thanks for thinking ahead for me.”
”Um…”
She raised her right hand timidly.
”Thank you for helping me… and even giving me food…”
”Don’t worry. Helping someone in need is natural. May I ask your name?”
”Oh… which name?”
”Which?”
”Like the one used within your clan or outside?”
”You have two names?”
”Eh? Does the Empire only allow one name?”
”Most countries only use one name.”
”Eh!?”
Her genuine shock made me wonder if she was completely sheltered.
”Haven’t you interacted much with the world?”
”Y-Yes… I left the settlement a week ago for the first time.”
”I see. If it’s okay, could you tell me both names?”
”Within the clan, it’s Bearty. The officials call me Happy.”
”Ha… Happy?”
What kind of pet name is that? I’d heard from Jott that Lycus weren’t treated well even inside the kingdom. My imagination made me uneasy.
”Then may I call you Bearty-san?”
”No need for ‘-san’! You don’t have to be so formal with me!”
”But—”
I swallowed my words. Her demeanor felt familiar. She’s like me. Just as I prefer relaxed speech, she’d likely feel more at ease without formalities.
”Alright, Bearty it is. I’m Neil Atmiras.”
”Ah… yes, please, Neil-sama.”
The relief on her face when I relaxed my tone confirmed I’d chosen correctly.
”Why were you lying there anyway?”
”Well—”
Bearty explained that overprotected by her family, she got fed up and ran away. But naive about the world, she didn’t know what to do, so she escaped into nearby mountains, avoiding the prejudiced gaze of the kingdom’s people. The mountains even straddled the Empire and kingdom border. Hoping to find a place unknown to anyone familiar with Lycus, she traveled west through forests.
She crossed the border illegally, fought monsters along the way, and survived on their meat…
”Then weird monsters started appearing that vanished like smoke…”
”You don’t know about replicas, do you?”
”Re-replicas?”
”Monsters created by dungeons using magic to mimic others.”
”Oh! I’ve heard of those! So that’s what they were.”
”So you exhausted yourself fighting them and collapsed?”
”Hahaha… that’s about right.”
I understood. Unaware of the dungeon, she had been drained by fighting replicas, explaining why she collapsed near the frontier settlement.
”Just to confirm, you weren’t aiming for the frontier settlement specifically?”
”No, I just wanted to go somewhere far from anyone who knew about Lycus. Did I do something wrong?”
”When we found you in the forest, a Theocracy priest happened to be at the frontier settlement.”
”What!? Theocracy priests… I-I didn’t know! No one told me they were here!”
Bearty realized she had arrived at the worst possible timing and scrambled to explain herself.
”Uh, calm down.”
”I—I really just happened to end up here by accident! It’s really a coincidence! Please believe me—”
――Grrrrr…
The room fell silent as a loud growl echoed from Bearty’s stomach, drawing everyone’s eyes to her.
”…uh.”
”Ha!”
”Don’t laugh!!”
”Sorry, sorry. But I didn’t expect that after stuffing your mouth full, you’d still be hungry.”
”It’s not like I always eat this much!? I hadn’t eaten all day, and I’d been running around non-stop—so I was just incredibly hungry, really! It’s true!”
”It’s okay, I’m not doubting that.”
”Then why are you trying so hard not to laugh!?”
I couldn’t help it. Just moments ago, she’d been desperately insisting she wasn’t here to target the priest, and now she was frantically explaining something completely different. It was too funny to contain.
”The basket won’t be enough. I’ll head back to the kitchen and make something. Marquis Rubal is still waiting too.”
”Hehe… th-thank you.”
Marquis Rubal had come before looking for Shiown, but he apparently loved Narsht’s cooking. He later sent a private item box, asking to try any new dishes he made. Rubal had learned Narsht was planning to cook with Arafem, the earth spirit’s masterpiece, and had been tasting her creations almost daily through the box.
Seeing Narsht head back to the kitchen finally allowed my laughter to settle.
”Phew… sorry for interrupting your meal. Go ahead and finish whatever’s left.”
”…Thank you!”
Despite her grumpy cheeks, Bearty couldn’t resist her hunger. She grabbed the remaining sandwiches from the basket, and as she ate, the tension drained from her face, replaced by pure delight.
”Delicious?”
”Y-yes… mmm! The vegetables are fresh, the bread is soft… I’ve never had sandwiches this good! I—”
”What is it?”
”I just… want my family to try these sandwiches too.”
”Don’t you want to go back to them?”
Bearty shook her head at my question.
”My family is precious to me. I don’t want to leave them, but…”
Because they were precious, she hated being protected constantly. Convincing her to return would be difficult, but the world outside wasn’t gentle enough for a naïve Lycus to survive.
”If you’re not going back, what will you do? You said you’d look for a country that doesn’t know Lycus, but Lycus is famous. Honestly, such a place might not even exist. And even ignoring that, you know nothing about the outside world—surviving won’t be easy.”
”That’s fine. If I wanted an easy life, I wouldn’t have left my family.”
Her resolve was clear. Since I couldn’t persuade her to return, I offered my backup plan.
”Then, why not work here?”
”Huh?”
”Neil—umf!?”
”Relax, Diana, I can explain later. For now, let’s head outside together.”
Lewya understood my intent, covering Diana’s mouth and dragging her out. I apologized silently to Diana—Bearty was like me; if Diana nagged her, she wouldn’t agree.
With the threat of Diana’s lecture removed, I turned back to Bearty.
”Did you do anything in the settlement? Any hobbies, or whatever?”
”Uh… not really… I mostly helped the kids or others worse off than me, but wasn’t allowed to do much else.”
”Taking care of people, huh? Perfect. I’ve been asked to look after someone recently—a handful. They can’t be left alone, but everyone else is busy. Would you help?”
”You mean, you want me to do that?”
”Just wandering around blindly will only get you hurt again. Working here and learning about the outside world at the same time isn’t a bad idea, right?”
Her reply was cautious, naturally like me.
”But… there’s a Theocracy priest here, right? If they find out about me, won’t it be terrible?”
”Well, as long as you stay inside the mansion, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
”Too naive, Neil-sama. They can see through the windows. We have to make sure no one knows she’s Lycus if we hire her.”
”How do we do that, Sia?”
”First, are you even uncomfortable hiding that you’re Lycus?”
”No… not really, but is there a problem?”
”Some are proud of their race and resist hiding it. Good, then.”
Sia lightly touched Bearty’s hair with her staff, instantly turning her gray hair golden.
”Wha—my hair changed!?”
”Lycus have gray hair. Changing it makes it hard to identify you.”
”A magic to change hair? You know that well.”
”Learned it recently… Neil-sama, you should know this too.”
Sia touched her ear. At first, I didn’t get it, but then realized she meant the magic Lewya uses to disguise her ear shape. Like Golarf made a prosthetic look real, this magic can disguise body parts’ color or shape. Sia had memorized it from being near Lewya constantly.
”You’re serious about hiring me?”
”Of course. I don’t joke about things like this.”
”…Even if my Lycus identity is hidden, what do I say if someone asks my race?”
”Ah, tricky. Blonde beast-person… Isn’t there a similar race in the Republic?”
”Fox-like ‘Urpe’?”
”Yes. Seen them a few times, didn’t they look like this?”
”I think so, from what I remember.”
Urpe are common in the Republic but rare elsewhere. Minor differences can be overlooked, especially unseen from outside the mansion.
”Are you sure this is okay?”
”You’re persistent. Are you pretending to decline politely?”
”N-no…”
”Say anything you’re unhappy about.”
”I’m not unhappy! You’ve helped me!”
”Good, then.”
Though she seemed like she had something to say, like me, she wouldn’t voice complaints easily. Trust would take time.
”If you’re not opposed, will you help to repay the favor? Also, wandering around could cause trouble.”
”Trouble?”
”Unintentionally, you’re an illegal immigrant.”
”Uh… what’s that?”
”You’ve been raised too sheltered for words like overprotected to cover it.”
Sia-san’s stunned reaction to Bearty’s naivety prompted me to continue.
”Simply put, right now you’re considered a criminal for sneaking into another country.”
”Eh…”
At the word ‘criminal,’ Bearty’s face went pale.
”Illegal entry is a serious crime. And if you’re Lycus, it could cast suspicion on both the kingdom and your family.”
”That can’t happen! If I cause trouble for everyone, I… I couldn’t bear it…”
”I also want to avoid any complications. I won’t let anything bad happen, so for now, just do as I say, okay?”
Since Bearty meant no harm, I didn’t want to treat her as a criminal. Besides, handling it this way would minimize problems. Of course, if it came out I’d been sheltering her, things could get messy, so I couldn’t hide her forever.
”…Understood. I’ll be in your care for a little while.”
Bearty’s face clearly showed her displeasure, but for both our sakes, she had no choice but to accept these terms.
There were many considerations in taking her in, but the person I had to focus on first was Diana, who had been dragged out of the room. I silently hoped her lecture would be finished by lunchtime.
Notes:
• Narsht-san – MC’s chef.
• Jott – A versatile member of Harmon’s group, often handling reconnaissance and communication thanks to his sharp senses from his Lycus blood. He contributes to combat and defense with his decent fighting skills and limited magic abilities. Jott first appears in Chapter 221.
• Bearty – Gray-haired Lycus girl from a remote settlement, ran away from overprotective family, appears after collapsing from exhaustion, becomes the girl Neil protects and mentors.
• Marquis Rubal – Another noble, who is famous as gourmet.
• Arafem – The food/vegetables grown by the spirits.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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