Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death-Chapter 14.1: The Hero's Long Absence (Middle Part)
Spring break has arrived. Starting today, I will have three weeks off from school.
The twin brothers Jade and Jain left for their relative’s villa. It’s right by a famous and beautiful lake, the surface of which is as clear as a mirror.
Snay also went away for vacation. Currently, he’s at his grandmother’s estate at the outskirts of town, where vineyards are abound.
Those three have invited me to stay with them, but I refused. I have a lot of things waiting for me to do.
Once I bid them a good holiday and tried to send them away, they burst into tears, saying things like “not being able to meet you for three weeks is unthinkable!” Once they were finally leaving the village, they kept looking back at me. Why were they crying though? It’s not like this was our final farewell.
It’s only… three weeks.
I’m sure that it will pass in a blink of an eye.
Before I realize it, the vacation will be over.
Since I’m taking the role of Lian, I have to accompany Lian’s elder brother on a business trip to the neighboring territory’s town hall. It’ll last for four days. The purpose of the trip is to fulfill my father’s duty as a feudal lord. Then, Lian’s grandfather, who lives in a town closeby, asked us to stay a few days there… Okay, scratch that. Since he already said it, then it’s less of an invite and more of an order.
Other than this, I still have to make the demon alarms, figure out where to place them, make the hazard map, and create an evacuation route.
Once I finish the map, I plan to send copies to all the villagers.
If I tell Lian’s father that this will make him look like a good feudal lord, and increase his appeal to the higher ups, then he will gladly lend me a hand without a doubt.
So, yeah. I’m busy. Terribly so.
Even though it is spring break, I have no free time and no breaks.
As I jot down my checklist in my room, the sunlight streaming through my window grew stronger.
I glance outside. The leaves from the trees outside are starting to turn a darker green. Up above, blue skies stretch on and on. An occasional soft breeze rolls in. it feels pleasant.
A day like this is perfect for starting on a trip.
…Alfred should be on his trip with Cheddar-san and his wife already, right?
＊ ＊ ＊
One week has passed since the spring break began.
Today, Lian’s parents have gone to the capital city, and will not return for five to six days.
Lian’s brother, as the acting feudal lord, is in charge of filling the documents, completing routine duties and house-sitting for his father.
Currently, he should be in his father’s study doing his morning paperwork, under the watchful eye of the capable butler Loendal.
I rather not, but I have to greet them a few times during this break.
Anyway, whenever I go out, I have to inform Lian’s brother first, which is very bothersome.
He’s super nosy, shooting question after question at me and chasing me here and there. That’s why I’ll just quickly inform him of where I’m going before sprinting off.
Since I already informed Loendal of my schedule, there shouldn’t be any problem.
I knock at the door to the study. Loendal’s calming and refined voice greets me from within.
“It’s Lian.”
There are suddenly a clamor inside. After that, the sound of something rattling and continuously falling on the floor reverberates. What is it? It’s noisy. What’s going on there?
“So it’s Lian. Please come inside.”
After a clink, the door slowly opens from my push.
Loendal bows gracefully with his usual calm smile, and he positions his hands clad in spotless white gloves in front of his chest.
“Ahhh!! My Liaaaaaannn!!”
Lian’s brother leans over to the large desk, his face appearing from between the mountains of the overflowing documents.
That… looks like it will be hard to organize. I look at Loendal. He’s smiling, but there are veins pulsing from his forehead.Uhhh. I totally understand how he feels. You’ve worked hard. And also, thank you very much.
Lian’s elder brother tries to push the documents aside without any care, and he leans forward in excitement. As if asking for my help, he stretches both of his arms towards me… I’m glad that there’s a large desk between us.
“Lian! Oh, my cute Lian!” He inhales and exhales hard. “Today, you’re also beautiful, cute, and sweet… Ahhh… That dignified yet ephemeral figure… You look like a beautiful moonlight fairy basking in the glow of the moon… I want to be on your side all day, no, all night. And love you until the end of time…”
The usual antics again. I can’t understand what he is saying.
“What’s wrong? My beloved Lian! Are you perhaps lonely? It’s okay, come here! I will prepare a chair next to me, so…”
“No, thank you. Err, then, I’ll be heading out soon. Loendal, I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Yes, I understand, Lian-sama. Please take care on your way. I have ordered two guards to follow you. They’ll be trailing a little behind, so that they won’t disturb you.Please feel free to instruct them if necessary.”
Since I’m always careful and having guards around make it hard for me to move freely, I tell Loendal that I don’t need any. But he suddenly bursts into tears and tells me that if I travel alone he’ll be worried, and if he’s worried he might get a heart attack. That he’s afraid any more stress is bad for his health.
…But I’m sure that’s not true! Because I often see him muscle training in the garden before the crack of dawn!
“Thank you, Loendal. I’ll probably be coming back late at night, but I’ll definitely come home. Ah, I won’t be needing dinner, since I’ll eat it outside.”
“Yes. I understand. Please be careful.”
“Eh!? Ehhh!? L-Lian? W-where are you going!?”
“Lian-sama is heading west of the village for an inspection.”
“Ehhhhh!? T-then…! I-I will… I will go together with him…!!”
“You won’t. Roberto-sama has many tasks waiting for you to do. Now, may I ask you to confirm this document, please? Since this is regarding an urgent matter, please process it before the afternoon.”
Finished speaking, Loendal lifts another mountain of papers from a closeby cart and places it on the desk in front of Lian’s brother. He maintains his calm smile throughout.
The stack of papers was enough to block anyone’s line of sight completely.
“Ahhhhhhh…”
On the other side of the pile, Lian’s brother weeps.
As always, thank you Loendal! Let’s go for a cup of tea next time! Of course it will be my treat!
“Then, I’ll be off, big brother and Loendal.”
I close the door to the study and rush out of the front gate where Shurio is waiting.
After driving around in the carriage, I have Shurio pull the horses to a stop on a hill near the west side of the village. Then I start to sketch the map using a compass and measuring instrument.
Before my eyes is a peaceful rural landscape.
Just beyond is a dense and large forest. And past that, a mountain.
It’s a scenery that inspires feelings of being homesick within me.
Shurio covers his face with his hat, snoring comfortably outside the carriage.
Sitting on the hill, I sketch the roads and trees using the twenty-four colored pencils I bought previously. Since I have to place the demon alarms in the most beneficial locations, I need to predict the pathing of the demons as well as I can.
“Ah! Are you by any chance… Lian-sama?”
“Yes?”
I flip around after I hear someone calling my name. At the end of the road by the foot of the hill, a woman stands with her baby suspended on her chest. In her hands are baskets of vegetables and towels. She’s walking toward me.
She looks unfamiliar.
“You areー”
“Ah! I-I’m very sorry! I can’t believe I just call out to you without telling you who I am… I-I’m…”
“Who are you?”
“Ah, yes. I-I’m… eh, uhm, I’m Pierre Merlot’s grandchild.”
“Pierre…?”
The name rings a bell…
“Ah,” I say, without realizing it. I quickly close my mouth.
I know who that is.
Special thanks to Anon-san and Nikki Gee-san for the ko-fi!
Next part will be ultra painful… I’ll upload the sponsored release tomorrow at 11 AM GMT+8 to make everyone feel depressed together with me. :3
On the bright note, chapter 15 will be super fluffy and full of rainbows so don’t worry… they’ll heal your heart…… hopefully.
Also, I’m currently reading a super domestic and diabetes-level-of-cute JP BL novel where the seme is so whipped and cute, and the uke is so… precious… In one of the smut chapters, they describe p**** as meat stick, which surprised me (I never thought that JP novel will use that word too…), and then… I found this gold:
“…From the tip of his meat stick, his soup starts to flow down…”
My perverted mind suddenly lost its focus and I laughed so much… I won’t be able to see soup normally anymore… //cries
