NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43 - A Heated Relationship? A Heated Daily Life?
“Take off your clothes…”
“What? Eh!? Wh-Why!?”
“You’re holding it in, aren’t you, Kenya? I’ll take care of it for you, I promise I’ll do my best…”
“W-What! No, Reina! We can’t do that yet!”
(What… Is this really okay?)
Kenya raised his voice and stepped back. Reina tilted her head in confusion.
“I was going to change the bandages soaked with blood… Is that not okay?”
(I knew it. What a letdown. Sorry, everyone!)
From the brown paper bag, Reina pulled out bandages from the pharmacy. There was no need to hide the contents; it was just another one of Reina’s typical misunderstandings.
“N-No, it’s fine! It’s totally fine! Go ahead, please change them.”
I responded while staring at the ceiling as if nothing had happened. There wasn’t much to see but stains on the low ceiling. I tried counting them to calm myself down. One, two, three… There are too many stains; what kind of dilapidated house is this?
Reina took a deep breath to calm herself. With determination, she looked at me.
“Reina, if you can’t handle the sight of blood, it’s okay. You don’t have to do it.”
“No, I need to face it, to confront the past I’ve been running from.”
The girl drew courage from the boy. The words of the boy who said he wouldn’t die gave the girl the strength to face her past.
Reina then hastily removed my clothes and began changing the bandages. Blood had barely soaked through.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Reina’s face turned red, and her breath quickened. Seeing Kenya’s wound and the blood made her breathing uneven.
Even so, since there wasn’t much bleeding, she could endure it. She gripped the bandages and began to replace them. The wound was already healing and had started to scab over.
Slowly, with her eyes closed, Reina wrapped the bandages. Yes, with her eyes closed…
(Yep, she’s not wrapping it properly.)
“Reina, it’s not wrapped right.”
“Sorry.”
“Reina, that’s my waist.”
“S-Sorry.”
After several attempts, she finally managed to wrap it properly.
“Thanks. I guess this will do.”
“I’m sorry for taking up your time.”
Reina apologized.
“…Hey, Reina. Can you tell me what happened in the past?”
I tried to ask about Reina’s past. Reina remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“…I’m sorry. Please wait a bit longer. Just a little longer.”
It seemed Reina wasn’t ready to talk about her past yet. She averted her eyes and apologized.
“You don’t have to force yourself.”
“No, I want you to hear it. You, who told me I wouldn’t die back then.”
I remembered the battle with the Goblin King. Seeing me bleed profusely from a chest wound caused Reina to have a flashback. I had told her, ‘I won’t die.’
“Okay… I’ll wait. As long as it takes.”
I smiled at Reina, who nodded reluctantly with an awkward smile.
Rattle, rattle, rattle.
“We’re home, big brother!”
“Welcome back, Nana, Misuzu.”
The two lively girls returned, making the small room feel even smaller and noisier.
“Ah! I said I would change the bandages!”
“How are you feeling, big brother?”
Misuzu insisted on changing the bandages again, so I had to go through the process once more. Honestly, I felt bad for Reina, but I needed the bandages properly wrapped.
“I’m okay. It hurts a bit, but as long as I rest, I’ll be fine.”
“Great. We’re having oden tonight because Misuzu wanted it.”
(Oden at the start of summer? Well, okay…)
It’s July, the beginning of summer.
“Thanks. It’s out of season, but I love oden, so I’m happy.”
Our household finances were tight, but we managed to scrape by until next month when some money was expected. So having oden wasn’t a problem.
…
And thus, the oden party began. I soon realized Misuzu’s intentions.
“Here, Senior, have some fried tofu.”
“Hot! It’s hot! Please cool it down.”
Why do I have to do this comedian routine, I wondered as Misuzu fed me the oden. It was scalding hot!
“Oh, do you want me to blow on it? Then say, ‘Please, Mama.'”
Misuzu spoke in a baby voice, trying to be playful. As I tried to raise my arms, the pain prevented me, leaving me no choice but to be fed the hot oden. It was burning!
“Stop being mean to big brother!”
“Hey, that’s why we made oden!”
Such a mischievous person. I’ll have to punish her once I can move. For now, please blow on it.
Seeing this, Reina decided to mimic Misuzu.
“Blow on it? Just blow on it, right?”
With that, Reina blew on the hot ganmo. Why ganmo? It’s the hottest one, with steaming juices inside.
“Here, Kenya.”
A ganmo, blown on by a top model… It looked delicious but was undoubtedly hot. What should I do?
Seeing Reina’s sad face as she tried to put the ganmo back in the bowl, I reacted.
“I want it! I want the ganmo you blew on, Reina!”
I hastily asked for the ganmo. What a sad face and hot ganmo.
Reina brightened a bit and handed me the ganmo. It burned my mouth as the oden juice spilled out, scalding me. As expected, it was incredibly hot.
Where’s the protection of the Black Dragon’s Cloak? It didn’t reduce the damage. Even at ★4 rarity, it couldn’t handle the heat of a ganmo.
“Oh, big brother, you didn’t forget, right? Tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“Huh? What’s happening tomorrow?”
As I struggled with the hot oden, I tried to remember.
“Come on! We’re going to see the new house!”
Right, tomorrow was Saturday, and we were supposed to check out a new property.
~
We were shown an unbelievably spacious room.
“How much is this place?”
“This property is 480 million yen.”
I felt dizzy and collapsed to my knees.