h.e.l.lo
I am really sorry, I just got promoted, so the amount work i have to do increased and also business trips I have to take. please give me 2-3 months to adjust and reorganize myself, I will be back if someone does want to take over any of my projects, they are welcome to as I also know the frustation of waiting for updates.
Again really sorry, will be back anyone can take over and I also welcome you to do so, please just inform me on our discord.
Amaku Yasashii Sekai de Ikiru Ni Wa - 40
"Master Doyle, would you like some more?"(Ballad)
". . . Yes, thank you."(Doyle)
"Please wait just a moment."(Ballad)
I sip the soup and try not to raise my head. If I raise my head, my eyes will meet with Gray"s, and it will become awkward when that happens. I can feel the various stares aimed at both of us from the others. They are not the icy cold stares that I received in the past but full of warmth and kindness. This makes it even harder to raise my head. Also, the stare I am getting from Gray is not the usual stare of awkwardness, but rather, the stare someone would give a child who is on their first errand and is stalking them to make sure they are safe.
"Doyle."(Gray)
"Yes, Your Majesty!"(Doyle)
The voice coming from Gray has a different tone than it did this morning. It is sudden, thus I answer in a formal tone that acknowledges his status more than anything. This is the first time I have done this since we have known each other.
"You look like you want to say something. Come on and say it, I am listening."(Gray)
I breath in deeply as I feel as aura I have not felt from him since the entrance ceremony. I feel I cannot make a mistake here in giving my answer. He has the aura of a person befitting of being called the First Prince now. It is also the aura he had when he said,
"If you go with any other woman, I promise to make you rust on my sword."(Gray)
He places the bowl of soup on the ground and grabs his mace. He awaits my answer. I gulp down a bit of saliva, as I remember that Warbit from before and feel cold sweat flow down my back.
I believe he wants me to notice my surroundings and realize I am making everyone worry about me. He changed the topic every time I tried to apologize, thus it would mean that I did not need to apologize.
He has never asked for an apology from me.
I think I have what he wants me to say. This is mostly likely the response he wants fromme. I put down the bowl of soup I got from Ballad and stand up. Gray looks at me, realizing I have found my answer. I look him straight in the eye and say what I want to say.
"I am sorry for making you worry."(Doyle)
I bow down after saying that. I wait for his response to my answer. I keep wondering if this is the right or wrong answer. I feel my heartbeat get faster and faster. I do not hear anything from him yet and want to raise my head to check on him, but I stop myself and continue to wait for his response.
I do not know how long I have been waiting. I feel it has been quite long but short at the same time. I think it is from the tension, but I hear someone move. The next second, I receive a big blow to the back of my head.
"Master Doyle." (Ballad)
"Hey, Doyle."(Leo)
"Don!"(Rodric/Sarane)
"Your Highness!"(Jin)
Although I do not lose consciousness from that blow, I receive a lot of pain to makes my face distort a bit. Jin and the other try to stop Gray from doing it, but he does not attempt another blow. Leo and Ballad try to quickly get medicine ready, but I tell them to stop since it is unnecessary.
He looks at me, and I can tell he does not find my response satisfactory.
" I would give that answer 50 points, as it is still insufficient. You have to think more about what those around you feel and want to do for you . . . Also what do you think of your surroundings."(Gray)
This is what Gray tells me, as he sits back down and starts to drink the soup Ballad made after putting down his mace. He seems to have forgiven me, but it looks like I did not give the right answer. He gives me a hint for the answer I should be giving him. He does not say anything after that . . . so I guess I have to think of the answer from this hint.
I have to think of the answer myself.
Although my answer was wrong, it received a pa.s.sing grade. It must mean that it is close to the answer he is looking for. His hand that has let go of the mace and me being consciousness right now is proof of this.
"Doyle, put your head down again. I am going to apply some medicine to help the pain."(Leo)
". . . Yes, thank you."(Doyle)
Even though I said it was unnecessary, it still hurts a lot. I do as Leo says and put my head down again. I do as Leo instructs and keep thinking about what was wrong with my answer. I suddenly feel a cold sensation on my head and my shoulders bounce in surprise. However, the pain disappears from my head almost instantly.
Wow, this is amazing.
I touch the back of my head where the pain disappeared from, and he tells me he has finished applying the medicine. The b.u.mp made by Gray"s mace has disappeared as well.
"You okay now, Doyle?"(Leo)
"Yes, I am surprised at how fast and easily the pain disappeared."(Doyle)
"This was made by Rodric."(Leo)
". . . It is an amazing medicine."(Doyle)
I look at Rodric and direct a compliment at him regarding the medicine. He gives me a thumbs up and a smile.
"I came up with this medicine because of all the b.u.mps I get from big bro when I get scolded by him."(Rodric)
"Exactly."(Sarane)
A weird air comes about from that answer.
Is that so?
They made the medicine as a response to Leo"s bro fist.
Good work, Leo.
Just listening to the twins talk makes me think that what is happening now must be nothing in comparison to the hardship Leo must go through each day. They are quite free in their speech, and Leo has known them since middle school. The twins must have caused a lot of problems with other people as well. The medicine actually speaks a lot of their history together.
. . . He has had some rough times.
I am not the only one to think this, as Gray also looks at Leo with a sullen face,and shakes his head in pity.
". . . Would you like some more, Leopardo?"(Ballad)
". . . Thanks."(Leo)
"Do not worry, Leopardo."(Ballad)
"Hang in there."(Doyle)
Leo answers while making a very tired face and unraveling his eyebrows. Ballad notices this and tries to comfort him by offering more soup to at least ease his hunger. The appearance of both of them looks like a man giving another man a drink at a bar. We have some small talk after that with each other and resume our activities.
"Shall we start our hunt again?"(Ballad)
"Okay, let"s go."(Doyle)
As I realize how considerate Ballad has been towards me, I try to quickly finish my lunch because of the strange atmosphere created because of Rodric and Sarane. I thank him in my heart again. I feel that the current atmosphere is much softer and less awkward than before. I must work harder. I was not able concentrate as much in the morning because of the problem concerning Gray, but even though he was not content with my answer, I believe his words meant to focus on the training camp and think about that problem after it is over.
"How should we proceed in the afternoon? We hunted quite a lot in the morning."(Doyle)
"True."(jin)
“I took a count of the materials we have gathered. We currently have 13 warbits, five nagel foxes, three iron snakes, six mirage coc.o.o.ns, and four horned moomongas. What we can actually be sell is nine warbits, three nagel foxes, one iron snake, three mirage coc.o.o.ns, and four horned moomongas. I am going to ask you guys to please not crush them when fighting them. We have hunted more than 30 demons and only obtained a third of the materials from them."(Leo)
". . . I am sorry."(Jin)
". . . I will be more careful in the future."(Gray)
"Do not apologize, I don"t mean something bad by it. You guys are the ones fighting, but we are wasting materials."(Leo)
I try to change my focus from the answer I should give to Gray to what we should do in the afternoon. I consult with the group on how we should proceed. Leo, who recounts the materials gathered from today, voices out a complaint.
Jin and Gray are the ones mostly at fault and can not say anything else other than sorry. Leo tries to comfort them and follows up. Ballad and the twins direct a bitter smile towards the three because it is true.
Our group is incredibly inefficient.
Even though we are strong, we are actually really bad at gathering materials. Jin"s attributes of lightning and fire cause the materials to burn to ashes. He stopped using fire after the first demon went up in a bout of flame and changed to lightning. However, Jin has some trouble holding back, thus the demons still got burned to ashes. Gray"s problem is that he crushes them into the ground and cannot get them out. Well, I think he was also affected by the awkwardness and will be better in the afternoon.
I am guessing all that strength he put into his strikes was intended for me, but he could only take it out on the demons until now. Now that I have said this, a cold sweat goes down my back. With the situation now slightly better, will he start hitting me? I do not want to pursue this line of thought anymore, thus I let it out of my head.
"Okay, so the formation will be Ballad and Doyle in the front. I will be in the middle with the three seniors, and Jin will be rearguard this time."(Gray)
"I believe this will be the best formation, will it not Master Doyle?"(Ballad)
"Oh, yes. Let us go with that."(Doyle)
As I am giving a silent prayer to the demons that had been buried, the conversation between the group ends. Ballad asks me if I am fine with this formation, and I give my okay.
Ballad almost starts to go into a rant about how he would be able to see my swordsmanship up close, but I stop him with the excuse that he would attract demons to us or scare them away. It works . . . I really do not want Ballad"s switch flipped right now. I am having trouble dealing with the twins already. Adding Ballad to the mix will just complicate things even further.
". . . Advi-, Sir Ballad definitely has a very unique personality and character."(Sarane)
"Yes, so true."(Rodric)
To worry about the unique personalities of others when they themselves have the most unique, if not strangest personalities. Immediately, the atmosphere freezes, and everyone except Jin stops. I think two things. They still want to call him Advisor in mafia family terms, and how the h.e.l.l can those two say that?
Gray has to stop himself from retorting by putting his hand on his mouth. Leo is about to gift another bro fist and flick to them.
However, Ballad stops him and tells him that he would like to borrow the two of them. He drags them both to a nearby tree where I would not be able to hear them if I did not use wind magic. Ballad starts to whisper something into their ears. The two slowly turn from blue to red to completely white faced.
Even though Ballad cannot fight, his ability to obtain information is better than everyone else’s. He has noticed this and continued to polish this skill to a level no one will be able to reach. He will find every single love letter, every single diary entry, and every conversation you have ever had. These types of things are damaging to a person and Ballad"s skill would be quite a horrifying a.s.set if someone used it in a time of war. To obtain information on this scale is amazing, and he is still polishing it even further.
I remember that Sebastian, Ballad"s grandfather, had given Ballad a list of names that he had obtained of suspicious individuals that intended to or had the potential to cause me harm. I try to recall that list of names, but I completely shut my memory off because the people on that list were too scary. Eventually, Ballad returns with the twins who are still trembling from the things Ballad had whispered to them. I guess Ballad said something other than love letters and childhood dreams to them.
I hope they have finally learned some self-restraint.