TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 49
[Every Tuesday is a day off.]
-Blink. Blink.
A Young Lady rubbing her eyes.
I rubbed my eyes in the same way.
“Ricardo, I think something got into my eye.”
“Me too.”
Putting down the cart handle, I looked at the clear sky. A sky so clear without a single cloud; it’s the perfect weather for enjoying some meat…
The Young Lady and I, both disheartened by the signboard announcing the closure.
We stared into empty space without a word for about a minute.
The Young Lady, with trembling eyes, stared at the sign hanging on the door, while I, sensing something was very wrong, pressed my lips together tightly.
The Young Lady flopped down onto the cart.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“The world is definitely trying to starve me to death.”
The Young Lady, staring emptily at the sky, was pouring out her grievances against the world.
Though the cart’s floor was padded with a soft cushion, it wasn’t hard, but the expression of the Young Lady cursing the world with empty eyes was truly striking.
If I handed her a bottle of soju as she lay sprawled out like a homeless person with her lips slightly parted, it felt like we could recreate Seoul Station.
The Young Lady mumbled.
That the world was being unfair to her.
“This is Noble Abuse. I need to hold a trial.”
“…Do you have money?”
“No.”
She grew even gloomier.
The rare outing had ended in failure. Mustering up courage to come out, only to be greeted by a signboard with closure written on it. She hadn’t even prepared dinner, and her grand plan had crumbled into nothing.
The Young Lady looked at me, expecting me to suggest an alternative. I whistled awkwardly with a forced smile.
When you can’t eat what you were looking forward to, no matter what you eat, you’ll end up disappointed. In my previous life, the orphanage director once promised chicken for dinner but brought back tteokbokki instead, and that tteokbokki tasted absolutely awful.
That memory of whining “Hing…” while eating tteokbokki with chicken still on my mind lingered, so I couldn’t easily come up with an alternative.
Was there no way?
Was there nothing that could satisfy the Young Lady’s hungry stomach apart from the Friends of Forest?
Watching the Young Lady as if she had lost her purpose in life, I cautiously asked.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“…No.”
The sulking Young Lady pouted her lips and let out a sigh.
“Come on, let’s go eat something else. It’s also good for saving meal coupons.”
“…”
The Young Lady, unwilling to just go back, gave a small nod. Although the dining-out attempt had failed, the outing wasn’t over yet.
Breathing in the fresh air and feeling the cool autumn breeze while admiring the autumn leaves didn’t seem too bad.
I grabbed the cart handle and started rolling the wheels. Looking back cautiously, I wondered if the bumpy road might hurt the Young Lady’s bottom, but she was gazing emptily at the sky, enjoying her reality check, indifferent to the bumps and sudden stops.
“I’m upset. I was planning to eat a lot of meat today.”
“I was planning to eat a lot of meat today too. It’s a shame.”
“Hmm… Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady, lying in the cart and savoring the autumn breeze, glanced at me slyly and brought up a trivial topic.
“Ricardo, is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“Me?”
“Mm-hmm.”
The Young Lady nodded slightly.
Since the Young Lady doesn’t like hearing “anything,” I fell into deep thought.
What food would the Young Lady like that wouldn’t seem too ordinary…
Steak probably wouldn’t work.
And the Young Lady’s favorite cake…
Didn’t fit her question. If I said cake, the Young Lady would probably suggest we just go back.
-Rattle.
The sound of the cart’s wheels rolling stretched a bit. The Young Lady poked her head out and looked around curiously.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
Here…?
A place with street vendors lining the road. A marketplace.
A market full of snacks like chicken skewers and cotton candy. The delicious aroma brought life back into the Young Lady’s eyes.
I quickly decided on dinner. It wasn’t intentional, but I was lucky enough to escape my indecision.
Turning back, I asked the Young Lady.
“How about eating here? Like a buffet, we can try everything we want.”
“R-Really?”
I gave a small nod.
“Doesn’t it bring back old memories? If you’re okay with it, we can roughly finish dinner here and maybe even buy a bath bomb to take back.”
“A bath bomb…! Mint chocolate-scented bath bomb!”
“No, not that one.”
The Young Lady nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
Grabbing the cart handle, I gave the Young Lady a look asking if she was ready.
“Then, gear four.”
“Huh?”
The Young Lady clutched the cart’s handle tightly and swallowed nervously.
“Can’t we go in second gear?”
“Sorry. I’m such a thoroughbred that I can’t control my speed.”
The Young Lady’s timid suggestion failed to persuade my explosive legs.
I had even made a safety belt, so over-speeding should be fine.
With her eyes tightly shut, the Young Lady knocked on the cart railing and spoke bravely.
“L-Let’s go!”
The Young Lady’s scream echoed down the street.
***
“Yum. It’s delicious. Ricardo, try some too.”
The Young Lady, holding skewers in both hands, chewed happily as she offered me one.
A skewer with a peculiar appearance.
The Young Lady, smiling contentedly, handed me a skewer with a frog—the protagonist of the nursery rhyme where legs pop out—stuck on it.
The Young Lady, a peace advocate of this era who didn’t care about appearances as long as it tasted good, handed me the frog skewer and said.
“This is tasty.”
“…”
“I’m serious, it’s really good.”
“…Pass.”
I shook my head and pointed to the chicken skewer in her left hand with my finger.
“Can’t you give me that one? It looks delicious.”
“This one…? No. Pass.”
The Young Lady looked at me with disapproval in her eyes. It seemed she was saving the tasty one for herself, but taking something like that is what actually tastes the best. Showing her bright, shining eyes like a cat, the Young Lady bit half of the chicken skewer and, with trembling hands, offered the rest to me.
“…Young Lady, are you perhaps a purple alien?”
“Purple alien?”
“A monster that makes everything into halves.”
“That’s a bad monster.”
“Young Lady too… bad…”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
Blocking my words, I ate the skewer the Young Lady offered.
As lanterns lit up the street, people began to gather.
A family enjoying the Night Market.
A couple on a date.
And even children from the slum hiding among the crowd to pickpocket.
As the crowd began to grow, the Young Lady gradually pushed herself into the corner of the cart.
Glancing around nervously, when our eyes met, she awkwardly lowered her head and chewed on an empty skewer. Seeing her like that, I maneuvered the cart to places with fewer people.
The number of people is increasing.
The gazes directed at us are also growing.
The Young Lady began to panic.
“Hic…”
“There are too many people.”
A High Noble sensitive to the gaze of others.
Once, the Young Lady lived by relishing and flaunting those gazes, but now she finds the looks of pity burdensome.
After all, the Young Lady had spent her life being admired rather than pitied.
Seeing the Young Lady embarrassed by her own shabby appearance, I patted my hungry stomach and spoke loudly.
“Ah… I’m full!”
The Young Lady looked up at me.
As her pale face came into view, I regretted not acting sooner.
With a trembling voice, the Young Lady asked me.
“F-Full?”
“Yes, I’m full. Maybe because I ate a lot of different things, my stomach is already satisfied.”
The Young Lady’s face regained some vitality.
It seemed like she really wanted to go back.
Just in case, I asked the Young Lady.
“Young Lady, aren’t you full as well?”
The Young Lady, similarly patting her stomach and claiming she was full, nodded and said.
“Yes. Full.”
The Young Lady, hesitating and twitching her lips, couldn’t bring herself to say she wanted to go back. She must have been worried about inconveniencing me by cutting the outing short because of her.
Peeking at me through the brim of her hat, she hesitated to speak.
Honestly, I did feel a bit disappointed.
After all, I was still hungry and we hadn’t explored much yet. But fulfilling the Master’s wishes is the Butler’s virtue, and we can always come back next time. I looked at the Young Lady with an expression meant to reassure her.
“Shall we head back now? If we buy the bath bomb and return, the timing should be just right.”
“…Really? Wouldn’t you feel disappointed?”
“No.”
The Young Lady’s expression brightened.
“Then shall we go?”
“Yes, I will escort you slowly.”
Without hesitation, I pulled the cart. On the way to the store, we chatted about what kind of bath bomb to buy, agreeing not to get the Mint Chocolate Bath Bomb.
“Ricardo.”
The Young Lady pointed her finger toward a dark alleyway.
An alleyway where slum residents lived.
The underbelly of Hamel, where dark deeds took place behind the bright streets. While it wasn’t as grim as the Capital City with its kidnappings, confinements, and contract work, this alley, home to orphans and Vagabonds, was where the Young Lady pointed with a curious expression and said to me.
“Isn’t that Yuria?”
The Young Lady called out a familiar name.
A name that shouldn’t be mentioned here.
“Oh, no way.”
“She’s right there. The one with pink hair.”
Although I thought it couldn’t be, my steps were already headed toward the alleyway. The slum was dangerous.
Especially for women.
Why would a Heroine like Yuria, who only sees the bright side of the world, enter such a place? No, if she’s the Heroine, it makes sense. Yuria is a Fool with a wide sense of Unnecessary Interference.
I sighed deeply and pushed the cart. As we got closer to the alley, a commotion reached our ears.
-What are you doing right now!?
-Miss, don’t concern yourself and just leave~
The mocking voice of a Thug.
And a familiar woman’s voice.
I let out a sigh.
Does that woman have no fear?
Judging from the fact that the Thug was speaking calmly, it seemed like she came alone. If she had come with someone, the Heroes would’ve handled it.
As the Furious Voices grew louder, my footsteps quickened.
-I clearly saw it. I saw you take the money I gave to the child. Give it back!
-No, lady, you must’ve seen wrong. Hey, did I take your money?
-…N-No.
It seemed like the situation was taking a bad turn.
The commotion had attracted more Thugs to the alley, and Yuria was alone.
-Now that I look at you, Miss, you’re quite pretty.
-…What did you say?
-You seem like you’d fetch a high price.
-Let go of me!
-Brother, should we just knock her out with some drugs?
I temporarily parked the cart in a secluded spot.
I sought the Young Lady’s permission.
“Young Lady…”
***
Yuria was flustered.
She had only wanted to help a poor child, but now Big-Bodied Persons were surrounding her.
A Big-built Man approached her with a dagger. Another grabbed her hand and tried to drag her deeper into the alley.
She couldn’t escape the grip of the hand holding her tightly.
No one came to help her.
Yuria’s legs, overwhelmed with Fear, refused to move.
“Let go of me! I’ll scream!”
“Go ahead and scream. Let’s see if anyone comes.”
The Big-built Man roughly grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her further into the dark alley.
She was terrified. Terribly so.
If only someone would help.
If she had known, she would’ve learned Self-defense Magic. She regretted the past when she vowed never to learn magic that could harm others.
She was so scared she felt like crying.
Was it wrong to intervene when she saw the Young Child being hit, or was it wrong to wander the streets alone?
Whatever the case, she was scared and terrified.
She recalled what a Male Student at the Academy once told her.
-Don’t meddle unnecessarily, Miss Yuria. I’m not mocking you; I’m genuinely concerned.
What’s the use of regretting it now?
Yuria struggled to break free, but all she received in return were vicious curses.
“Stay still! Before I kill you…”
That’s when it happened.
“Kill? Who?”
A silhouette appeared between the alleyways.
“Stop breathing. You’re polluting the air.”
With Red Hair, an all-too-familiar figure.
At the same time, the person Yuria hated most, with Red Eyes, slowly walked toward her.
And then.
“This is my territory!”
I saw the Villainess on his back.
“Ricardo! Bite!”
“That’s what I should be saying.”
“Bite!”
“No, I’m striking a pose right now.”
“Grr! Bite!”
“Haah…”
Yuria’s legs gave out, and she collapsed on the spot.
“Ricardo! Yuria is dead!”
“Please don’t kill someone who’s perfectly alive.”
“Hiiik…!”
As her eyes closed, the screams of the Thugs echoed around.