Author: aji (あじ)
Translator: sleepingjay
We were looking down at the jewelry on display. Standing with these two excited people, I looked like the odd one out.
I let my gaze drift, and a ring happened to catch my eye.
It wasn’t me purposely seeking it out at all.
I was just wondering what the latest fashion was……
“Hehehe, Master, you can’t pick a ring yet! You have to look forward to the Commander’s proposal!”
“What? No, I wasn’t thinking about it.”
“But you’ve been staring at it for a good minute.”
“That’s just….”
“Okay, okay. Master, isn’t very honest, I know~ If you have any questions, you can ask me, the love expert, for consultation!”
“Love expert? Aa, you mean pulling in weird men.”
“Erk.”
When I looked at Bel doubtfully and pointed out the reality, he held his chest like he had been hit and collapsed to the floor.
It was a bit exaggerated, to be honest. Somehow, it had become commonplace for him to be tricked by increasingly ridiculous men.
A gentle-looking baker, a fierce and rough carpenter. An underling of an underground organization, a hard-to-understand narcissist .
The list went on and on.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ft, ettt…. Valii! P tjnf wbgf fzqfglfcmf atjc sbe, Zjrafg.”
“Lwqt. Tbe regf?”
“P–P’nf fnfc xlrrfv yfobgf!”
“Lft.”
“Lbivlcu tjcvr! P’nf tfiv tjcvr abb.”
“Qbk.”
Lf fjgcfrais aglfv ab mbcnfs tlr “tfgblm vffvr”, ajixlcu bc jcv bc ktlif ralmxlcu mibrf ab wf.
Dfi kjr aklaafglcu bc ilxf j ilaaif ylgv. Lf gfjiis kjr j mtliv.
Seemingly fed up with my attitude, Bel’s face scrunched up in frustration, and he loudly said something a bit incomprehensible:
“You were still clueless only a little while ago, Master! If I had a little more time, I would have grown into a cool, sexy and gentle man like the Commander too! No, even better than him! Then I’d be the one to make Lily happy!”
“…..? What do I have to do with this?”
“Ah—no, no, nothing! That, that was said in the heat of the moment, so please forget it~”
“Huh. Fine, whatever, just calm down.”
I patted the head of Bel, who was acting suspiciously.
Calling me ‘Lily’ was a leftover habit of this kid from the old days, but getting so worked up to this point was really a bit much.
By the time he had gradually regained his composure, I had forgotten all about what we were discussing and silently took out medicine from the cabinet.
“Bel, here’s the next potion. And I’ve included the recipe later so you can prepare it yourself next time. If you have any questions, just ask Hank or the apothecary.”
“I understand……. Master, are you happy?”
“Hmm? As much as anyone could be, I guess.”
“I see.”
The weird question came out of the blue, puzzling me.
When Bel saw my nod, he gave me a soft, hard-to-decipher smile and hugged me around the waist.
When I met him back then, he was even younger than now, and yet he was already selling his body in the red-light district of a foreign country. Living on other people’s moods, he wasn’t this expressive back then.
He was constantly worried over the younger children—even when told there was enough portions for everyone, he would give his own away until he collapsed.
“……Hey.”
Picking Bel and his friends up was a whim on my part. It wasn’t like it would chip away at the number of children on the streets, eking out their living through prostitution and taken advantage of by adults, nor would it save those who would never see another day again.
If there had only been a bit more time, those kids too could have eaten the candy they never tasted before.
Even though the ‘candy’ they talked about with bright laughter was just leftover pieces.
But in the end, they didn’t come back on the very last night.
Their figure could not be seen in the new morning.
My ‘good deed’, really, was only self-satisfaction.
Rather than me, what about you guys?
Are you happy, I wonder—
“I’m happy I met Master too!”
Bel laughed.
His brilliant smile made my heart tighten, and for some reason the backs of my eyelids were hot.
“I hope I’ll get to fall in love with someone wonderful someday too.”
“…You’ll have much happier days ahead of you. That’s just how it is.”
The warmth of Bel’s body that passed on to me through his hug was just as lovely as a verbal thank you.
Translator:
Update 2/2
A different kind of sweetness with a bit of bitterness hidden within.
Thank you for the chapters!!! 💖💖💖
Thank you for the chapter
thanks for the chapters <3