Translated by: Rinkage
Edited by: Mana & Ranock Pliskin (The potatic Draturtle)
Special thanks to: for contributing the Light Novel
Character page:
Volume 2 Chapter 4: I went to the house of the girl I like (part 1)
“Owaaaa-!?”
I raised a cry and jumped out of the bed.
The usual scenery spread out before me when I looked around.
There was no doubt that this was the room of the inn I am renting.
There was just one thing that was different.
“Oi, Gai… Why the heck are you holding your hands over me?” [Youki]
Gai, who was supposed to be sleeping in the corner of the room, was next to my bed. I could feel magic emanating from his hands. He seemed to be casting his magic on me.
“Mm, you’ve gotten up already, brat? After all the trouble I went through to show you a good dream.” [Gai]
“You didn’t need to show me that! I knew you were the culprit! Why did you show me that dream, you lolicon statue!?” [Youki]
I pressed Gai for an answer to why he was doing this, even though I had been considerate when he was flirting with Tiel-chan in the room yesterday.
“You have been looking after me in many respects. So this is just a little thank you from me.” [Gai]
“Haa!? You’re not someone who would…” [Youki]
Do something like this. That’s right. It’s strange.
Gai is not someone who would usually do something like this. I couldn’t say that out loud. It was likely that something must have happened.
『Dignified Appearance』
I suddenly recalled what Tiel-chan said yesterday.
If I recall correctly… she was complimenting Gai even though his appearance left something to be desired. And yet, she was rubbing her cheek against Gai’s and nestling close to him.
“Oi, could it be that you…?” [Youki]
“My new appearance seems to be favourable to that girl. So this is my thanks.” [Gai]
Apparently, Gai used 《Nightmare Sleep》 on me as a token of his grat.i.tude.
He did not convey any thanks despite being praised by Raven the other time, but it was different when it came to Tiel-chan. As I thought, this guy is definitely a lolicon. There was no doubt about it.
In the first place, it didn’t really matter if he was a lolicon, or if he loved Tiel-chan. He might not be a human, but even demons have their own preferences, so I have no intention to say anything… but.
“Thanks? What thanks?! Why the heck did you use magic on someone without their permission!? Giving me such a dangerous dream!” [Youki]
“…Mu, I don’t really know what you saw in your dream, but at the very least, it shouldn’t be a nightmare. I strengthened your unconscious mind and desire, brat. Generally speaking, you should have experienced the things that you wanted to do the most in your dream.” [Gai]
“Stop bulls.h.i.+tting me! Don’t use magic to probe into the unconscious mind of someone who has been dumped by the opposite s.e.x! Thanks to that I had a really intense dream!” [Youki]
Yes. What I had seen in my dream was very dangerous. Guys who have been "dumped" have negative thoughts acc.u.mulating in their mind. And if you were to add one’s desire on top of it, it would be really bad.
It was a dream of Cecilia, who was wearing a bathrobe sitting on the bed with me as I proposed. Seriously, if I had not woken up, I think really would have been dangerous.
“Hmm… the power was just right for the girl, but it didn’t seem to work for you, brat. As a result, my magic might have been too strong, so it ended up giving you an intense dream” [Gai]
“Why are you a.n.a.lysing it calmly?! In the first place, what you’re focusing on is strange! Besides, why did it work for Tiel-chan but fail on me?! If you’re going to use it on me as a token of grat.i.tude, then at least make it work!” [Youki]
Could it be because Cecilia, the one with the most common sense, was not around? I had a feeling I wound up playing as a straight man in her stead.
…My reasons for wanting to see Cecilia has increased. I will reach my limit soon if I’m alone for any longer.
“…I had intended to repay you back, but it seems like I have done something unnecessary.” [Gai]
“It was too much! You don’t know how many times I kept slapping my own head in my dream, telling myself that something was definitely strange in there." [Youki]
"I see. So you woke up from your dream of your own free will. It seems that my magic still has a long way to go." [Gai]
Gai, who didn’t seem to be convinced with his own magic, shook his head as he reflected upon himself. What he ought to reflect upon should not be the result of the magic!
“How should I know! Good grief… I’m going back to sleep. Don’t use 《Nightmare Sleep》 again!" [Youki]
The string of bad luck and Yuuga’s consultation yesterday has left me exhausted. I’m still sleepy.
“Aa, I understand. Mm? Hold on, brat. If I’m not mistaken, today…” [Gai]
I can hear Gai’s voice, but I"ll ignore it.
In the first place, Gai and Tiel-chan’s flirting played a part in contributing to my weariness too. How many times do you think I had to come back to the inn yesterday? After returning and peeking into the room, I found myself outside, wandering around the Imperial Capital aimlessly numerous times. This process repeated itself over and over again.
This sounds so much like a riajuu"s story!
Both of them eventually fell asleep, with their bodies nestled together. I woke Gai up, being careful not to disturb Tiel-chan. Gai then woke Tiel-chan up while I went outside and waited for Tiel-chan to go back.
Why must I, the owner, have to be so mindful just to go back to my own room?!
“Oi brat, wake up. If you continue sleeping like this…” [Gai]
Gai seemed to say something, but I couldn’t hear it.
I was already on the verge of falling asleep.
However, I have an important thing to do today. I"ll just take a short nap and get up as soon as I can. I made such a resolution in my mind just before my consciousness began to fade, and I fell asleep soon after.
…Well, I can easily imagine myself missing the appointment at this rate.
Nevertheless, I am not a protagonist.
I am not an ikemen, nor am I a hero. I’m just someone who was reincarnated. So there’s no way I would oversleep.
“…If this were the usual love comedy, I would go, "Why didn"t you wake me up?!" …Wait, it would probably be the scene where Gai gets angry.” [Youki]
I muttered as I prepared myself before leaving. Even though I had fallen asleep twice, I still got up at the usual time.
"Well, that would be the story IF Gai were the one to wake me up from my sleep." [Youki]
I turned towards Gai who was in the corner of the room. Even after I spouted my sarcasm, there was no reaction from him at all.
It seemed that he was fast asleep.
"You should be the one to wake up!" [Youki]
I smiled wryly when I recalled the words Gai said just before I fell asleep.
To begin with, it didn’t matter at all even if I was worn out from yesterday’s event. As today was an important day, I would not commit a blunder as stupid as oversleeping.
The necklace that was meant to be a present for Cecilia was inserted into my pocket.
It would be uncool if I were to forget to hand the present to the person I wanted to meet. I will show you my sincerity.
Then let’s go! …was what I thought until my gaze landed on the mirror. Was it because of the stupid things I had said to myself in front of the mirror yesterday?
When I threw a furtive glance at Gai, he seemed to be sound asleep and it didn’t appear as if he was getting up anytime soon.
Should I lift my spirit a bit?
I flipped my chuuni switch and struck a pose.
“I will make a declaration here…Today will be the best day for you!” [Youki]
I pointed towards my own reflection in the mirror.
When I said that it would be the worst day for me yesterday, it had indeed become the worst day for me, so I tried saying the opposite thing today. With this, it…should turn out to be a great day for me today.
Seeing that I had done what I should do and that I was already done with my preparation, I left my room and made my way to Aquarain’s mansion, leaving Gai who was fast asleep in the room.
Since I still have some time before noon, I decided to buy myself snacks to eat instead of a proper breakfast, and take a leisurely walk towards the mansion.
And then, various events happened.
First of all, when I pa.s.sed by the vicinity of the cake shop, a female employee stopped me and handed me some cakes. I was initially baffled by her abrupt action, but after listening to her story, it seemed like she had seen how her brother was serving the customers yesterday. She was supposed to be resting due to her cold, but she was worried about her brother so she had gone to the shop to check out the situation.
Because of that, she understood that her brother had messed up the contents of the cakes due to his unnecessary body posing. Hence, she gave me the cakes as an apology. Although I was honestly happy, I suddenly caught sight of her brother, the root of this problem inside the shop.
Did he notice me? He flashed me a grin, revealing his rows of s.h.i.+ny white teeth as he gave me a thumbs up.
…He couldn’t possibly be interested in me, right?
That was one possibility that I didn’t even want to consider, so I left the shop with the cakes immediately.
Upon leaving the shop, the guy who had been flirting with his lover (and making fun of me) yesterday called out to me. Apparently he had ended up quarreling with his lover after that and broke up with her. Since we are both single now, he wanted to say h.e.l.lo to me. It wasn’t as if I like being single, so there was no need for him to do that, but I hesitantly shook hands with him and bid him farewell.
Anyhow, since he looks like a fairly stylish man, it would only be a matter of time before he gets a new one. I don’t like making friends with these types of people, but having more acquaintances didn’t seem like a bad idea.
The next one whom I b.u.mped into was the strong looking beastman.
That wolf beastman with sharp eyes, claws, and canine teeth did indeed seem to be strong… but he was apparently an old friend of Clayman.
Apparently when I b.u.mped into him yesterday, he was not actually glaring at me. He was observing me as he had sensed that I have an unusual presence. I was initially afraid of him finding out that I am a demon, but it seems like he was simply referring to my ability.
He then invited me to go to the guild to accept a request with him next time. Although I almost accepted it unintentionally, the look he had on his face when he was laughing was the scariest one I had seen.
If I really were to accept a guild request with him, I would definitely need Clayman to come along with us.
And now suddenly, I am surrounded by a group of people in butler clothing.
…What is it this time?
“We would like to apologize for the trouble caused by our young master the other day. I, as the butler of the household will apologize on behalf of our master." [butler]
“Apologize…for what? And who is your young master?” [Youki]
When the butler-san explained to me, I found out that it was pertaining to the kus.h.i.+yaki child this time. It appears that the child is a young master from a quite well-off family.
“When we took our eyes off young master even for a while…he went off by himself. Deeply apologies about it. This is our token of apology.” [Butler]
“Th…Thank you very much.” [Youki]
“Then please excuse us.” [Butler]
After saying so, he handed me a somewhat large bag and left with the group of butlers.
As I wondered what a rich family would offer as apology, I opened the bag with meager expectations.
There were roughly twenty kus.h.i.+yaki inside.
…I’m happy about it, but I can’t finish this myself.
“Since they are rich, there must be something more…that they could give. Why must they return the kus.h.i.+yaki tenfold? …Wait, it’s almost noon. I guess I should go now.” [Youki]
Bearing the necklace as a present, as well as the cakes and kus.h.i.+yaki in hand, I headed towards the Aquarain household.
Upon arriving at the mansion, I was able to pa.s.s through without any trouble just by mentioning my name. It seemed that the gatekeepers were informed of my arrival beforehand.
Come to think of it, there were that two other gatekeepers who turned me away the other time. Sophia-san seemed to have ‘educated’ them, but I wonder what would happen if I were to commit a serious blunder in the mansion. Would Sophia-san be ‘educating’ me as well?
Let’s stop it. It was frightening just thinking about it.
Leaving that aside, why was there not even a single servant around?
It made me feel quite uneasy walking around in such a huge mansion alone.
“…Captain.”
While I was being overwhelmed by the feelings of anxiety, I suddenly heard someone calling out from behind so I turned around.
“Ah, Happiness. Thank goodness… I didn"t see anyone around so I was feeling slightly worried.” [Youki]
“…Why?” [Happiness]
Happiness asked, looking expressionless as usual.
Considering that this is such a huge mansion, I had thought that whenever visitors drop by, there would be someone who would welcome them. If it were Sophia-san, I had expected her to go greet the guest at the door immediately.
“No, well, even if you asked me that, how should I put it…I thought that there will usually be someone who would come and welcome me.” [Youki]
"…Who do you think you are?" [Happiness]
“No but, even if you say that…aren’t you here to guide me?” [Youki]
“…Bingo.” [Happiness]
It was hard to react when Happiness played the fool with a deadpan expression. It would have been better if she had shown some emotion.
Raven is definitely going to have a hard time.
It is likely that Happiness will remain expressionless as she thanks Raven after receiving his present. It won’t be possible for him to read her expression so he might misunderstand it and fall into depression himself.
“…I will guide you.” [Happiness]
“Ah, I’ll be counting on you. Though, I can actually find my way to Cecilia’s room even by myself." [Youki]
“…My job.” [Happiness]
“Aa, you’re just carrying out your responsibility, aren’t you? I got it. I was just saying it.” [Youki]
“…Then it’s fine.” [Happiness]
After such exchange, I decided to have Happiness guide me there obediently.
By the way, I could read even Happiness’ expression to a certain extent since I have known her for quite a long time. Although, I do not understand everything about her as well, since there were some areas that even I do not know what she was thinking about.
Sheik’s thoughts are even more difficult to comprehend, though.
While I was having such ruminations in my mind, I followed Happiness from behind.
For some reason, my palms started feeling sweaty as we proceeded to our destination in silence. I will be able to see Cecilia soon. The moment this thought crossed my mind, I began to feel nervous. This is bad. I got this tense even though I have not seen her for only half a month.
“…Hetare. 1” [Happiness]
Happiness who was leading the way, threw a quick glance here and murmured in a barely audible voice.
“Oi, hold on there! Who are you calling hetare?” [Youki]
I grabbed Happiness’ shoulder and spun her around. There was no way I could remain silent when I was suddenly called a hetare.
“…What?” [Happiness]
Happiness averted her eyes from me; in an unnatural way. Was this fellow planning to feign ignorance?
“Didn’t you just call me a hetare?! My hearing is sharp so I was able to clearly hear what you said." [Youki]
Humans are especially sensitive to negative remarks about themselves. Well, I am a demon, though.
“…Too self-conscious.” [Happiness]
“No. It wasn’t me being self-conscious. You definitely did say that!" [Youki]
Seriously, I couldn"t understand why she was still so stubbornly denying it till now. Although, I couldn’t really refute what she said.
On seeing my irritated state, Happiness seemed a little relieved and heaved a sigh.
“…Feel more relax now?” [Happiness]
“What are you talking about?! Rather, don’t change the subject…” [Youki]
“…Nervous.” [Happiness]
I finally noticed it after she said that. It seemed that Happiness had provoked me deliberately to ease my tension. For my former subordinate to be so mindful of me…I failed as a captain.
“Happiness, sorry it’s my bad. Thanks to you, I’m back to my usual self.” [Youki]
“…Then it’s good.” [Happiness]
Having received my thanks, she gave a curt reply, turned around and started walking again.
Somehow, looking at Happiness" back made me feel that all my former subordinates are companions that I could depend on.
As such, owing to Happiness, I was able to reach Cecilia’s room in an extremely relaxed condition.
*knock knock*
Happiness knocked on the door.
“…Ojou-sama. Captain is here.” [Happiness]
“Please come in.” A reply could be heard from the other side of the door after that.
Upon hearing Cecilia’s voice, panic rose like bile in my body; since it was the first time listening to her voice after half a month. Just as I took a deep breath, Happiness elbowed me in my side.
“Uaa!?” [Youki]
A strange cry escaped my mouth due to the sudden pain.
“Pull yourself together.” When I looked at Happiness, it appeared as if she was conveying such message to me indirectly through her eyes.
It was a rough method, but I appreciated it.
Happiness opened the door and went inside. I followed in after her.
“It’s been a long time, Youki-san …though, it’s actually only half a month so it’s not exactly that long.” [Cecilia]
Upon entering the room, Cecilia, who was sitting on a chair, looked over here as she smiled. Had she been reading until now? There were several books piled up next to her.
“No, it felt like it has been half a year since I last saw you, to me…” [Youki]
“It’s exactly half a month, you know. Youki-san says something amusing as usual… Please take a seat. It will be hard to chat while you’re standing.” [Cecilia]
"Aa… thank you." [Youki]
Cecilia closed the book that she had been reading and placed it in a bookshelf.
I wasn’t interrupting her reading, right? I’m seriously a coward to have even come to that conclusion.
However, while such negative thoughts were running through my head, Happiness gave me another look and elbowed me once again, telling me indirectly that I should be happy, that I have finally managed to meet Cecilia, and that I should dismiss my negative a.s.sumptions.
…Alright. I’m fine.
“…Please excuse me.” [Happiness]
Nonetheless, Happiness gave Cecilia a salutation and left the room, leaving me alone with Cecilia. I wished I had something to start the conversation, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.
For the time being, I should hand her the "gifts" that I had received as apology earlier.
“Ah, these are as apolo… no I mean, these are gifts for you.” [Youki]
I gave Cecilia the box of cakes and the bag containing twenty kus.h.i.+yaki.
“Gifts? Thank you, Youki-san…. Cakes, and twenty kus.h.i.+yaki?” [Cecilia]
Cecilia thanked me and confirmed the contents, but upon inspecting it, a question mark floated above her head.
I did think that the combinations were strange as well. The number of kus.h.i.+yaki inside was odd, too.
“Erm, I don’t think two people can finish up that many kus.h.i.+yaki. Are these for the servants too?” [Cecilia]
It seemed that she a.s.sumed I had brought the servant’s portion as well, probably because there were twenty kus.h.i.+yaki inside.
“Hahaha…The cakes and kus.h.i.+yaki are just something that I received from someone else.” [Youki]
“…Can you explain it to me in detail?” [Cecilia]
Since she wanted me to explain, I began recounting the incidents that happened yesterday and today.
The part about Yuuga was not included though, since it was likely that it would end up being a troublesome discussion.
“…So something like that happened. Isn"t the end result fine? You managed to get to know many people too, correct?" [Cecilia]
“Uu…well, that’s true.” [Youki]
Does that mean, she might have thought that I only have very few friends?
Though if that was the case, then it would be quite shocking. A lonely person without friends wouldn’t be likable, right?
While I was having such miserable feelings, Cecilia who seemed to have sensed that I was developing an inferiority complex, explained.
“Youki-san, please don’t get me wrong. What I meant was that, Youki-san has blended in with the community in Minerva." [Cecilia]
"…Eh?" [Youki]
“You’re not only getting along with me, or Duke-san and the rest, but also the people in Minerva…You’ve gotten used to it, right? To this world.” [Cecilia]
I listened to Cecilia’s words and pondered about it.
It should be around three months by now after I stopped secluding myself in the Demon Lord’s castle. Even though I was excited about being in another world in the beginning, I was feeling uneasy about it at the same time.
However, numerous things had happened since then; I went on a date with Cecilia, I partic.i.p.ated in consulting Raven on his love problem, I beat the c.r.a.p out of the hero from the empire. I might have grown up a little after going through such experiences.
“The Youki-san who was at the Demon Lord’s castle at that time said he wanted to die…. What about now?” [Cecilia]
Footnote1. Hetare = Good for nothing /coward / loser. I thought it sounds nicer to leave it as is.