TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 207
The Young Lady, with a handful of fluffy bubbles, was smiling, saying “Hoo” as she blew them.
“Hehehe…”
Since the bath was relaxing her entire body, the Young Lady, who was laughing, didn’t seem to want to get out of the bathtub.
“The bubbles are so fluffy…”
“Are you having fun?”
“Yes, it feels like I’m 10 years younger.”
The Young Lady indeed loved taking baths.
After playing with the bubbles for a while, the Young Lady created two large mountain ranges with them and looked at me.
The fluffy bubbles.
The Young Lady poked the bubbles with her fingers and said.
“Ricardo, haven’t you seen this somewhere before?”
“No.”
The Young Lady had a sinister smile on her face, which made me feel uneasy, as her artworks always surprised me.
The best example would be the time she made a paper crane and claimed it was a Menbosa in disguise, which made me think that this time, there must be a deeper meaning as well.
The Young Lady, with a serious expression, added more bubbles on top, making the structure bigger.
“Think about it carefully…”
“I don’t understand, no matter how hard I think.”
“It’s fluffy and big…”
“Yes.”
“It’s enormous.”
I leaned in closer to take a better look at the Young Lady’s artwork, trying to find a clear answer to her question.
It seemed like it would be fluffy if I touched it.
‘What is this?’
As I was pondering for a moment, my gaze accidentally drifted away, as if drawn by a magnet.
The Young Lady’s treasure pouch, with water droplets flowing down, was a sight that commanded respect, and I quickly looked away, not wanting to stare.
‘Is it possible…?’
I looked at the Young Lady, who had a serious expression, and shook my head, thinking that her artwork wouldn’t be something like that.
‘…but I couldn’t think of anything else.’
I thought that the Young Lady’s artwork was too complex for a commoner like me to understand.
The Young Lady pouted and spoke to me in a serious tone.
“It looks like a breast.”
“…Haa.”
“It’s very soft and big.”
“This is…”
I splashed water on the Young Lady’s face.
As I watched her masterpiece collapse, the Young Lady looked like she was about to cry, hugging her chest and speaking in a desperate voice.
“My breast!”
“What breast are you talking about?”
“Eeeek! Ricardo ruined my breast!”
“No…!”
It seemed that the Young Lady had learned how to flirt, as she was very good at it.
The Young Lady laughed brightly, seeing my face turn red.
“Hehehe! Why?”
“Why did you make a breast bigger than a watermelon? And why did you make something like that?”
“Hehehe, it’s fun!”
The Young Lady’s tension always rose when she took a bath.
After playing with the bubbles and creating various artworks, the Young Lady lost interest and started tapping a yellow duck doll floating in the bathtub with her fingers.
“Hey, Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve been thinking about our travel plans.”
“You’ve been thinking about it. I thought you’d say we could go anywhere.”
“Eeeek…”
The Young Lady gave me a slight glare and pouted, looking a bit down, as if hiding something she wanted to say.
I smiled slightly, looking at the Young Lady.
“So, where did you decide to go?”
“It’s just that…”
“Yes.”
“You see, it’s like this…”
The Young Lady was hesitant to speak.
I wondered if she had chosen an expensive travel destination, as she kept glancing at me while holding the duck doll in the bathtub.
What could she be thinking about, looking so worried?
It’s not like I mind, but the Young Lady, who usually doesn’t care about what others think, is being so considerate, which makes me think that the destination might not be an easy one to travel to.
I sat down next to the Young Lady, observing her grand chest, and waited for her response, trying not to stare at her face, as she might feel embarrassed.
-Softly…
“…”
“Ricardo, pervert.”
“…”
It seems that the Young Lady’s eyes can see right through me.
The Young Lady let out a sigh and carefully spoke about the travel plans she had been thinking about, asking for my opinion.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about where we could go and have fun.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Yes, if I were to ask Ricardo to choose, you’d probably pick a place with dragons or where barbarians live.”
“…I thought you liked that kind of thing. I was planning to do something like that.”
“Eeeek…”
The Young Lady looked puzzled and muttered, “But that might be fun too…”
I was glad that I could understand the Young Lady’s preferences, but I remained calm and focused on her words.
The Young Lady looked serious, so I waited patiently.
“You see…”
The Young Lady glanced at me and held the duck doll floating on the water.
-Squeak!
The duck doll let out a dying sound due to the Young Lady’s touch, and I almost laughed, but seeing the Young Lady’s worried face, I held back, thinking that she might throw the doll at me if I laughed.
“Don’t say anything.”
“Of course.”
“Really.”
“Yes…”
The Young Lady carefully opened her mouth to speak.
“You see, I was thinking…”
“Yes, you were saying…”
“I’ve thought about a lot of places, like the sea, mountains, and valleys…”
“You’re thinking of a rather wholesome travel destination, unlike your usual self. That’s unexpected.”
“Yes…”
“I was planning to visit the Dwarf Kingdom or even invade the Elf Kingdom without permission.”
“Can we do that?”
“If you want to, we can try.”
“Ugh, no, let’s do that later.”
“I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady shook her head and carefully spoke.
“Really, don’t get angry when you hear this.”
“Yes.”
“Really, really… Ricardo told me to choose, so.”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady bowed her head deeply and spoke in a shy voice.
“I want to go to a very cold place.”
“Really?”
“The North…”
“Uh…”
“I want to go to the North.”
The Young Lady’s words were more shocking than I thought, considering the current state of the North, which was not a place where people could live.
It was cold, and
Demonic Beasts were rampant, and
Heretics were present, and
Also,
“…”
It was also Yuria’s hometown.
I smiled bitterly and patted the Young Lady’s wet hair.
“That’s perfect. The weather is about to get warmer, so it’s a great travel destination.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry?”
“You chose a very cold place.”
“You wanted to go, so why would I be angry? It’s not like you chose a strange place.”
“…Still.”
“I thought you’d say you wanted to go to the sea. You said you wanted to wear a bikini last time.”
The Young Lady touched her belly fat, hidden under the bubbles, and shook her head, thinking it wasn’t the right time yet.
“I’ll go to the sea after I lose weight.”
“You look fine just the way you are.”
“Hehe…”
It seemed that all women, whether villains or not, liked the topic of weight.
I nodded, thinking that we could save on accommodation costs.
“It’s a good thing we have the Desmond Family’s Resort in the North, so we don’t have to worry about the cost.”
“…”
The Young Lady was silent, unable to speak.
I smiled slightly and asked the Young Lady.
“Isn’t there one?”
“…Father sold it, saying we didn’t have money.”
The Desmond Family seemed pitiful today.
*
In a town in the North, where a cold breeze blew.
“…”
Yuria’s Father, James, was rubbing his stiff shoulders and yawning.
“I wonder if Yuria is doing well.”
James’s concern was always for his daughter Yuria, who had left the North for the capital. He worried about her life in a new place, knowing how hard it was to adapt.
It was a common concern for a father.
The North might be cold, but it was easier to live there than in a new place. As a father, James couldn’t help but worry about his daughter, especially since he knew how hard it was to adjust to a new life.
-Father… don’t forget to eat breakfast, even if I’m not there…
-Don’t cry, Yuria. Father is doing fine. Don’t worry and come back.
-And I’ll quit my job…
-I will.
James was breaking his promise to his daughter, working again.
He was dealing with the recent surge in Demonic Beasts, a job he had started again after retiring from being an Adventurer due to injuries.
James looked at the wounds on his body, inflicted by Demonic Beasts, and let out a bitter smile.
“Yuria would scold me if she saw this.”
James felt his daughter’s absence even more at times like these.
James had two jobs.
One was being an Adventurer.
The other was his main job, which was an Innkeeper, although it didn’t pay as well as his side job.
The North was a popular tourist destination in the summer, with its beautiful scenery and occasional mirage-like views.
In the spring, there were fewer guests, but in the summer, James could earn enough to send his daughter a generous allowance.
However, with the recent influx of Demonic Beasts, James’s profits had been cut in half.
James stretched his stiff shoulders and let out a sigh.
“I guess we won’t have any guests for a while.”
James thought it was strange for people to visit the North for sightseeing, given the current situation.
No one would choose to die just to see the scenery.
As James had this bittersweet thought,
-Hehehehe!
A wheelchair was speeding down the Northern Mountain Range, making a strange laughing sound.
It was a chair,
Not a sled, but a chair.
James rubbed his eyes, stunned by the unbelievable situation. In his 30 years of living in the North, he had never seen anyone like this.
-Hehehehe! Wow, it’s so fast!
A woman with white hair passed by James, her hair flowing in the wind, moving at a speed that was hard to follow with his eyes.
James saw the Man with Red Hair following her and nodded calmly.
“I guess I should go back inside since I’ve seen something strange.”
James couldn’t understand what was happening.
And he hoped that those two people were not guests.