“I can’t believe that WIl-sama has been expelled by Robert-sama… This Richard is truly sad.” (Richard)
Richard Sebastian, the butler said that with a cheerful smile.
“Despite that, your face seems quite bright…” (Wilhelm)
“Oh, really? Hohoho.” (Richard)
It was laughed off.
“But, Wil-sama also seems more bright than usual. Looks like occasionally going outside and basking in the sunlight is what you needed after all.” (Richard)
“You say that but I have muscle pain all over my body…” (Wilhelm)
“To this Richard, it looks like you’re in good health. Hohoho.” (Richard)
Richard is a tall man with white hair. Despite appearing old, he is only fifty years old. His posture is upright.
The mustache on his face and the vest he always wears are the trademarks of an outstanding butler of the Wondersky family.
By the way, he has been taking care of me more than anyone else since my childhood, holding a position in my life more reliable than a father.
As for why Richard is here at the back entrance of Anya’s house, he came to deliver my personal belongings from my family’s house.
“I have brought your change of clothes, writing materials, grooming necessities, and anything else deemed necessary for daily life. Of course, your sword and armor as well—” (Richard)
“Ah, sorry, but I don’t need the armor. Strengthening my body with my magic makes it much sturdier. Armor just feels too heavy for me.” (Wilhelm)
“Oh, impressive. Is this what they call the Demon King’s ultimate magic?” (Richard)
“No, it’s a type of Hero’s Divine Sword Technique. Even though I say sword technique, there’s quite a bit of magic involved. Why don’t you give it a try, Richard?” (Wilhelm)
“Hohoho. Can one learn such things at my age?” (Richard)
“With my excellent teaching, anyone can do it.” (Wilhelm)
“Well then, I will be looking forward to it once you safely return home.” (Richard)
I wonder when that will happen. Richard probably had the same thought. Ah, I want to go home soon. I want to lounge around in the paradise in my room.
That paradise is my sanctuary. I can slack off without worrying about anyone.
Richard made a polite bow.
“Well then, I shall take my leave here. Please inform me first when Wil-sama’s engagement is officially decided.” (Richard)
“Oioi, how old do you think Anya is?” (Wilhelm)
“She’s in her prime of youth. Moreover, she’s beautiful. She will likely become a beauty representing the country someday. Hohoho.” (Richard)
He sure likes colorful romantic stories at his age.
Anya is probably around twelve or thirteen. It’s way too early for marriage talks.
…Well, she does seem like she’ll grow up to be a beautiful woman in the future. Her hair and skin are beautiful, and she has long legs. Her eyes are like precious jewels. I don’t know any other woman who has such a combination.
Richard boarded the carriage and headed back.
I guess I’ll go back to my new room. Ah, damn it. I have to start putting in effort again. My body is stiff and heavy, and even the slightest movement sends pain throughout my entire body.
This is genuinely the worst-level muscle ache ever.
I don’t want to do anything today. Not tomorrow, not the day after, not ever. Because I’m a shut-in.
Suddenly, I gaze at the street. Everyone is busy walking around, working hard.
“People sure are amazing.” (Wilhelm)
Day after day, working without complaining. Everyone seems dazzling to me.
◇
Due to the muscle pain, I ended up not doing anything until evening.
Well, I pretty much cleared out most of the quests piled up at <Grand Bahamut> yesterday, so there’s no more work left.
Even so, a slight sense of guilt still crept in.
If I were at my parents’ house, it would be one thing, but this is Anya’s house. Moreover, Anya has been out on quests since noon. To complete the few remaining modest quests. She’s definitely the hard-working kind.
Haa… Anya is so dazzling.
Despite being much younger than me, she’s still working hard, meanwhile, here I am spending the day taking naps at the store, under the guise of manning the shop.
I exchanged some harsh words with Mew-chan because she complained about me. Mew-chan asked me to help clean the guild, but I declined, citing muscle pain. That led to an argument. She kept calling me a NEET, which annoyed me, so I decided not to talk to her for a while.
Honestly, even if they are magical beasts, I wish they had the intelligence to understand the severity of muscle pain. Everything from the neck down hurts, it’s heavy and stiff, and I seriously can’t move. I can move at the speed of a turtle, but it still hurts.
Also, my profession is a shut-in. Being a shut-in means not leaving the room. I wonder what she expects from a shut-in.
Before I knew it, it was already evening.
Anya seemed to have received ingredients from the neighbors again and returned home carrying large paper bags in both hands.
“Wil-sama, thank you for manning the shop! It’s impressive to see you working even with muscle pain.” (Anya)
“Heh, well, it’s nothing for someone like me.” (Wilhelm)
I only crossed my arms and acted all high and mighty, but the muscle pain was enough to make me want to scream. Well, to be honest, I feel guilty for receiving praise when I know that I did nothing.
“As expected of Wil-sama! I’ll prepare dinner right away. Please make yourself comfortable and wait!” /
I’ll gladly let her do that. Muscle pain is intense, and I can hardly move.
I awkwardly approached the kitchen table with robot-like movements. Once I sat down, I felt relieved.
I stayed where I was and watched Anya as she prepared the meal from a distance.
She has a nice, perky butt, I think. Surprisingly, it moves a lot when cooking.
Anya’s chest hasn’t developed much yet. It’s just enough to push up her clothes slightly. But even though the size is modest, I’m sure she has cute breasts. After all, Anya is a beautiful girl, and her skin is glossy and beautiful.
Wait, my gaze is getting inappropriate. It’s not like I want to see Anya’s body. I just want to watch her cooking.
It’s nice to watch a girl happily singing while cooking. While wearing a triangular apron, she flutters around, occasionally talking to the vegetables as she cooks.
Just watching Anya cook makes me happy. It’s been a while since such feelings welled up in my heart.
Haa… She’s so cute. She’ll definitely make a great bride in the future. I don’t know for whom, but I envy her future husband. I can already imagine them living happy lives.
Ah, a delicious aroma is wafting in.
Even though I haven’t done anything today, I’m starting to feel more hungry than usual.
I wonder what’s for dinner tonight. It looks like she’s simmering something, maybe it’s curry.
Suddenly, Mew-chan, entered the kitchen. I don’t really want to see her face right now, especially after the fight we had today. She’s so noisy, calling me a NEET, even though I keep telling her I’m a shut-in. They are different things, okay?
“Oh, Mew-chan. Is the bath ready?” (Anya)
“Soda ne.” (Mew-chan)
“Wil-sama, the cooking will take a bit longer. Please go ahead and take a bath first.” (Anya)
“Tch, did I boil it just for the sake of the NEET mew?” (Mew-chan)
I’ll pretend I didn’t hear Mew-chan’s grumbling. It’s tiring to keep responding to her. Since Anya can’t hear them for some reason, I don’t want her to think I’m a weirdo.
Surely Anya can’t hear Mew-chan’s voice because her heart is pure. I feel like that’s the case. Maybe I can hear Mew-chan’s complaints because, unlike Anya, my heart is tainted.
“Um, is it okay to use the bath first? I feel kind of bad.” (Wilhelm)
“Yes! Please, go ahead. It’s pretty nice, you know~?” (Anya)
“Thanks. Well then, I’ll take you up on that.” (Wilhelm)
“Puu kusu kusu. Too bad, Mew. If you had waited until the young lady took her bath first, you could have had the broth1 she left behind. Serves you right, Mew.” (Mew-chan)
Sparks flew in our gaze.
I feel like Mew-chan and I will never get along.
“Hehe, you two seem to get along well. Oh, if you’d like, why not go in together?” (Anya)
What kind of misunderstanding is this, Anya? We’re definitely not on good terms.
“Soda ne.” (Mew-chan)
“Hey, don’t mess around. Are you really saying you want to bathe with me?” (Wilhelm)
“Ha, you got it wrong mew. Rather, it’s frustrating that I can only say ‘Soda ne’ and ‘mew’.” (Mew-chan)
Phew. It would be dangerous. I definitely wouldn’t be able to relax if I bathed with this giant furball. There would be hair everywhere, and I wouldn’t want to clean the drain.
Though, I wouldn’t mind bathing with Anya. I’d like to wash each other’s backs.
“Hey, Anya, how about it? Want to join in?” (Wilhelm)
Before I knew it, I had made a suggestion. What am I saying?
“Hehe, I’ll refrain from joining today. I’ve already started the fire, you see. Please invite me again next time.” (Anya)
Starting a fire is quite a process. You have to ignite it, transfer the flame to flammable material to increase the heat, and then maintain it for an extended period by adding firewood.
Once the fire is lit, it’s dangerous to leave it unattended. Extinguishing it would be a waste of firewood, which is expensive.
Well, it can’t be helped.
…
I entered the bath with robot-like movements.
Ah, the warm water is penetrating my body.
It feels like this hot bath is doing wonders for my muscle pain. This must be the happiness after labor, even though I only worked yesterday.
It would be perfect if Anya were here with me.
Oh, there’s a silhouette outside the bath.
No way. Could it be? Is Anya really coming? What do I do? It would be embarrassing if she saw me naked.
What should I do? I’m really nervous.
Before I could mentally prepare myself, the door opened.
“Whoa, wait a minute. Anya, that’s not okay. Even though there’s an age difference, we’re still a man and a woman. This kind of thing should happen after nurturing love… Wait, it’s you. Damn it!” (Wilhelm)
Mew-chan was there with an astonished expression.
I can’t take it anymore; this is the worst.
“Hmm, what were you imagining, mew?” (Mew-chan)
She asked while picking her nose. Disgusting.
I filled the bath bucket to the brim with hot water and poured it over her.
“Waah, wh-what are you doing, mew?!” (Mew-chan)
Her white fur got wet in the water, and she looked strangely slender, like a different person. Haha, what’s with that? She looks so weak now.
“Anyways, what do you want?” (Wilhelm)
“I was just curious if a NEET like you can even wash yourself, mew.” (Mew-chan)
“Are you an idiot (baka)?. Baka, baka!” (Wilhelm)
“The one who says ‘baka’ is the real baka, Mew. Baka, baka!” (Mew-chan)
Ah, this is exhausting…
After kicking Mew-chan out, I relaxed in the water and let myself unwind. This place might be heaven without her around.
…
When I got out of the bath, the stew Anya was preparing was finished. I thought she was preparing curry, but my predictions were quite off. Well, the cooking methods are pretty similar anyway.
Wow, it looks incredibly delicious. Maybe it’s even better than the stew at a restaurant. Even though I haven’t done anything today, just looking at it makes me hungry.
“I don’t know if it suits your taste, but please enjoy.” (Anya)
“It’s definitely gonna be great. Looks super delicious. Itadakimasu~!” (Wilhelm)
Mmm~ The aroma, the smooth texture on the tongue, and the richness down the throat. The tenderness and sweetness of the carrots are irresistible, and the chewiness of the chicken is excellent. It tastes even better when you mix it in together with bread. I could go for seconds, thirds, and more of this.
“Anya, this is the best stew ever. It’s so good; you could open up your own restaurant with this kind of cooking.” (Wilhelm)
“Hehe, I’m really happy that you like it Wil-sama.” (Anya)
Hmm? All of a sudden, Anya’s eyes widened and she leaned forward from her seat, approaching me. Her beautiful deep crimson eyes gazed at my face. What mesmerizing eyes. They feel like they could draw me in. They possess a pure and radiant beauty that can rival any gem in the world.
Wait, isn’t she getting a bit too close?
Should I close my eyes? What is she going to do?
“There’s a bit of it at your mouth. Let me get it for you.” (Anya)
Anya scooped up the stew at the corner of my mouth with her index finger.
Oh. It’s embarrassingly childish for someone my age to eat like a child. But it was so delicious that it couldn’t be helped.
Ah—. Anya casually licked the stew off her finger as if it were the most natural thing. She did it in a quite sensual way, sticking her tongue out and licking it up.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Did I do something rude? I’m not familiar with aristocratic society. Is this a breach of etiquette?” (Anya)
“I, uh, no, actually, could you do that again?” (Wilhelm)
“Huh? But there’s no more on your face…” (Anya)
“Next time, then.” (Wilhelm)
“Sure, if it happens again.” (Anya)
“This NEET…” (Mew-chan)
I received a glare from Mew-chan, but whatever. What mattered was that Anya looked alluring just now. That was more important.
Anya essentially lives alone, so maybe she appears more mature than her actual age. Oh, right. Her age. It might be a good time to ask about that.
“How old are you, Anya?” (Wilhelm)
“I’m twelve years old.” (Anya)
That was about what I had guessed.
“Living alone at that age is quite impressive.” (Wilhelm)
Mew-chan extended her face into my field of view with a dissatisfied look.
Oh, right. She’s not exactly living alone. Sorry, sorry, but you’re distracting. I pushed Mew-chan’s face out of my line of sight.
“Anya, when did you start living alone?” (Wilhelm)
“Since last year, after my father passed away. My mother had already passed away from an illness a few years before that…” (Anya)
“I see… I’m sorry, I asked about something difficult again. Anya, do you have any relatives in this town?” (Wilhelm)
“I do. However, I love <Grand Bahamut>, so I have no intention of leaving this house. This guild has been precious to my father and me for a long time.” (Anya)
That precious guild is in trouble, though.
Living alone as a girl in these circumstances must be tough. Yet, she keeps smiling and even interacts with a shut-in like me. She’s truly a remarkable girl.
Well, I’ll return to my family’s house eventually. I have no intention of working hard in this guild forever. After all, my occupation is being a shut-in. It would be strange if I were working hard.
I slowly reached out my hand to Anya.
Anya seemed a bit wary, wondering what I was going to do.
I don’t plan to do anything special. I just want to pat her head.
I pat her as gently as possible while making sure that it was firm enough to make her happy.
Anya’s hair was silky smooth and had a pleasant texture.
“Anya, you’re amazing. It must have been tough doing all this alone.” (Wilhelm)
“Fwah… Huh?! Wha-what are you talking about? W-Wait, I haven’t even taken a bath yet, and I just came back from quests, so I must be sweating a lot. Awawa.” (Anya)
“Mmm, you’re amazing.” (Wilhelm)
She seemed extremely embarrassed and confused. Anya’s eyes were spinning around. Cute.
Maybe this is enough. Doing too much might make her uncomfortable.
I returned to my seat. Anya’s face is now warm and flushed.
“Fwah~ Mouu~ I’m sorry for being a little weird just now. But, I’m really happy. There hasn’t been anyone around to pat my head like that in a while.” (Anya)
“Well, that’s good. Let’s cherish the guild for your dad’s sake.” (Wilhelm)
“Yes, um… Actually, I have a dream. I want to make <Grand Bahamut> the best guild in this country someday. So, um… if you don’t mind, Wil-sama, could you help me?” (Anya)
“Me? I’ll do whatever I can to help. I also want to repay you for the delicious meal.” (Wilhelm)
Well, once my muscle pain is gone, that is.
Also, until I go back home. I don’t intend to work hard in this guild forever. After all, my occupation is a shut-in, so it would be strange if I worked too hard.
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
And here I thought he’d never ask for her age. Honestly, I thought that Anya would be older and just look young but I guess not.
There’s absolutely no way he’s heading back home anytime soon with that kind of mindset.