Chapter 27 – Usagi-san, Usagi-san

When Herge finally settled down, Aslin and Philia came back to me.
Look like Herge thought of Herge and Aslin as angels.

(Herge)「I will raise these children!! They will become excellent lady!! And then, I’ll marry them!! I can’t show the world of adults to these kids. They have such a beautiful mind!!」

While she was crying, I separated the two from her embrace.
Ah… Nothing was settled at all.

(Yuki)「I’ll take my leave now. I’ll go to the kitchen and make everyone’s lunch.」

(Aslin)「Very well!!」

(Philia)「Do your best!!」

(Labiris)「You’re leaving…」

With me, I carried the three children.
Honestly, To bring one with each arm is very hard.
Although it was nothing to carry Labiris on my shoulders, it wasn’t the same for my arms at all.
Well, with that, my physical strength should rise accordingly…
Was my mental not high enough?
Because the three seemed happy, let’s try to endure it.

(Yuki)「Then I will cook dinner now. I will teach you as well. You have to listen properly.」

The first step in learning for a beginner is to prepare 「Onigiri」.
If you fail at this, that means you will never be suitable for cooking.
Or rather, I never saw someone fail to do this.

No, once when I was studying… There was that guy. He tried to wash the rice with a detergent.
He indeed stopped before it was too late… But what kind of joke was that? This schoolmate of mine, seriously!!

(Aslin)「Was rice the sticky and small thing we ate for breakfast?」

Aslin tilted her head to the side. Her beautiful maroon colored little bob swung.
As excepted of the child chosen by Mauve.
The gesture of the 11 years old little girl looked very cute, just like a doll.
Different than Labiris, her flat chest was well suited for her size. It kept her future potential hidden.

(Yuki)「We will use this rice for today’s lunch.」

Saying that, I displayed the content of the rice cooker.

(Philia )「Ah～, it’s warm, it will do a great meal.」

Philia and Aslin came over together to look.
Even though Philia is a dwarf, she had the figure of a loli. Her ponytail was swaying.
By all means, I want her always to remain with this good-looking face of a child.
I am not a lolicon. And never will I. However, In fantasy, a lolicon loving a dwarf would probably be a cla.s.sic.

(Aslin)「Say, Yuki-San, what kind of work do you need my help with?!」

Aslin stared at me with expectations.
Oh, I remember now. Aslin said that she was good at housework.
Are you worked up this much because you never had the chance to prove your usefulness before?

(Yuki)「Alright, but be careful since this is the first time you will use these tools. For now, listen to my instructions.」

(Aslin)「Yes！!」

(Philia)「Me too, I want to help!!」

Although I said that, we only washed the rice and turned the switch on.

(Labiris)「Do your best. I’m looking forward to it…」

(Yuki)「For the time being Labiris, Do you mind going down from my shoulders?」

(Labiris)「If I’m in the way… I will go down…」

Her voice sounded a bit sad. Using my back as a support for her feet,
she finally reached the floor and turned her face toward me.

(Labiris)「Tell me when I can ride you again… Until then, I’ll endure…」

Labiris looked at me with her upturned eyes.

(Yuki)「Haa, Don’t worry, you’re not a hindrance」

I said that and took her into my embrace.
I’m not a lolicon…It’s my obligation as her guardian, and I would feel bad otherwise.

(Labiris)「Thank you…」

Labiris murmured that and brought my head into her embrace. I remained like this for a little while.
Because of the two melons, breathing was difficult.

(Yuki)「Alright is everyone ready?!」

(Aslin)「Yes!!」

(Philia)「I will do my best!!」

(Labiris)「OK…」(TL: Author-san wrote OK in English, I laughed there xD)

Then, we made a miso soup. And with the cooked rice, we shaped Onigiri.
Although Aslin had yet to be satisfied with her results, it was very satisfying for her first time.
From the next day onward, let’s teach her how to use the different cooking utensils and make various dishes.

After that, I carried the meals to each room.

Mauve was normal.
No, Mauve wasn’t normal, he was making a s.l.u.ttish face.
Out.

Because Herge tried to kidnap Aslin and Philia, I calmed her.（Physics）

When I entered the women’s room, Millie had already settled a little. I bowed my head to her and said.

(Yuki)「Well, I will not force you to cooperate. I cannot afford to have you hurt because of your feelings. Millie, even if you don’t want to contribute, I won’t blame you.」

(Millie)「Yes…」

(Yuki)「Oh, anyway. Here’s your meal.」

Aslin put the dishes besides Millie.

(Aslin)「Ano, Millie-san. I made this. Yuki-San taught me!! These are onigiri desu. Do you want to try them? It’s delicious!! This thing called salt made it even more delicious!! Please, cheer up…」(TL: Not sure of the meaning: 色々このふりかけ？)

When Aslin explained the food to her utmost, Millie was surprised.

(Millie)「You did a good job watching after the kids. I’m quite sensitive about this kind of consideration」

With her hand, she did pompom on Aslin’s head.

(Millie)「So lovely… Aslin, Thank you! I’ll gladly eat the meal.」

(Aslin)「Yes!!」

That’s good. Millie seemed to be okay now.
Even were the best trio. They are eating willingly … huh?

(Yuki)「Ellis, where is Lutz?」

(Millie)「Oh, she said that she wanted to bath and headed there, no?」

(Yuki)「I’ll place her meal here. She can just eat it afterward.」

(Millie)「Yes, I understand」

By the way, I told them to bring the tableware to the kitchen after they’re done eating.
Well, what should I do now?
And while I was thinking about such a thing…

(Labiris)「Let’s go to the open bath… Together.」
(Philia)「Yeah, I want to go」
(Aslin)「Un」

If you say that when I’m transporting you, then I can’t help but going.
Soon, we arrived in front of the hot spring.

(Yuki)「Now, can you manage to go on your own?」

(Labiris)「I decline…Let’s go to the men’s bath.」

(Philia)「Together Desu一」

(Aslin)「Desu」

Well… when they grow up they will say「一No I hate bathing together!!」or something of the like.
Should we make memories here before it’s too late?

In the end, I had to go with them…

(Yuki)「You have to diligently wash your head and bodyー」

While I Urged the kids first to wash themselves, they ran around the bath and fell…

(Lutz)「Oya, Onii-san. Did you want to join me that badly?」

Lutz was staring at the sky absentmindedly.

(Yuki)「No, I’m here because it’s the men’s bath」

(Lutz)「U～n…, I didn’t know that I was upset to that extent～」

Lutz finally noticed after looking around. Look like she mistook the men’s bath for the women’s bath.
I don’t think she did it on purpose.
She probably entered the bath to calm down her crispness a bit.

(Yuki)「Are you okay? Was it because of Herge…?」

(Lutz)「Eee, well. One problem amongst others for this little girl ～」

After the girl had said that, she moved something in her hands.
That thing, was it something carved with wood? Similar to a doll, she was playing with it.

(Aslin)「That, is it a Usagi-san?」

Aslin who was now in the bath showed interest towards Lutz’s little doll.

(Philia )「Eh～, Lutz-san is truly skilled!! You wouldn’t loose to a dwarf. You already won my respect!!」

(Aslin)「Wow, is it really handmade, Philia-chan?」

(Philia )「Yes it is. Look like Lutz’s talent improved.」

Eh, Philia did you know her beforehand?
However, Lutz was actually very dexterous.
After Aslin had kept watching the doll Lutz held for a while, she was presented the toy.

(Lutz)「I will give this to you Aslin-chan. Originally it was an experiment for children. It can float on the surface of water. You can have it. You’ll have more use of it than me.」

(Aslin)「Can I take it, for real!?」

(Lutz)「Yes, please be nice and play with it often」

As soon as Lutz said yes, Aslin took the doll with a smile and swam to Labiris.
Fast.

(Aslin)「Look, look, Labiris-chan. It’s a Usagi-san.」

(Labiris)「Oh my goodness, so cute!。Did you receive it?」

(Aslin)「Un」

(Labiris)「It’s cool. I wonder if I can have the same.」

As they conversed, they looked like a big sister and her younger sister.
While I was thinking about that, Lutz used her hands to form a sort of cup and splashed water on her face.

(Yuki)「Ano… Does this Usagi-san have a story attached to it?」

(Lutz)「Nothing good… Even though I like you a lot Onii-san, there’s thing I don’t want to tell you…」

(Yuki)「Sorry for asking…」

At that moment, only the voices of the children could be heard from the bath.

(Lutz)「I feel ashamed of myself… But I don’t like that Herge is partic.i.p.ating」

(Yuki)「…」

(Lutz)「Did I understand well…? You used Herge’s safety as insurance for the contract signed by the king, right?」

(Yuki)「Oh」

Again, Lutz splashed water onto her face.

(Lutz)「This Usagi-san is indeed mine, but its previous owner met a tragic end… A short time… It was only for three days.」

Lutz began to narrate her story.The story which concerned the Usagi-san.
side : Lutz

Even if I speak about it, it’s not like I’ll be able to revive the girl…
This Usagi-san’s owner is also the guardian of Aslin. He’s a kind Dungeon Master. I think it’s fine if I talk to him about this story.

(Lutz)「So, where should I begin with? Well…

Before I became a slave, I was working as a merchant.

I went on all kind of adventures even though I have moderate skills.

I traveled along fellow adventurers. I have to thank them for that.

After I had traveled for quite some time, I became well experienced regarding business. I even thought of new goods to bring on the market all by myself. I stopped at a village and tried to make my thought into reality.

So I took pieces of wood and started carving.

At that time, a cute girl came looking at it.

Was she around the same age as Aslin? I couldn’t tell at all.

Therefore, she called out to me. She wanted to purchase what I was doing.

With a bright smile, she said something like 「Usagi-san da～」

As a merchant, I made something unreasonable. Tempted by her beautiful smile, I gave her my Usagi-san for free.

What did we do after she took the Usagi-san? We did business together, talked together and went to the river to play together.

The aftermath came later inside the village.

Everything ended in the middle of the night. I was still thinking about my accomplishment of the same day.

Suddenly, and because it was a small village, it was crushed in no time.

Amidst the confusion, my fellow adventurers all left separately. Because chaos was everywhere, I tried to use that and flee.

At that time, whether it was good fate or not, I encountered the girls whom I left the Usagi-san to.

Without thinking, I held the hand of the girl, willing to help her out.

And with only a little more, I would have left the village…

However, at that very moment, the girl dropped her Usagi-san. I had to go back.

My hand shook, I didn’t know why but I went to take back the Usagi-san.

The moment I picked it up, multiple arrows struck the girl.

When that happened, my only thought was to save that girl. I couldn’t walk away. If she was unlucky and suffered a fatal wound, she wouldn’t live long with her small body.

Immediately, I ran up to her, but she was mortally wounded…

Everything was the fault of the Usagi-san I made… I had deep regrets…

While I was regretting, I hugged the child’s corpse and started crying.

Before I noticed, someone grabbed me, and I became a slave.

Then I was chosen by Curse, and met you Onii-san.」

Once again, I put hot water on my face.
I didn’t want to show my tear to that man.

(Yuki)「Do you think this girl hold a grudge… Since you have regrets?」

(Lutz)「I don’t know. I would like to hear it myself one day.」

(Yuki)「It’s harsh… But at a time like this, are you able to comfort a little?」

(Lutz)「Idiot. You ask for an answer when the answer is right in front of yourself.」

When I said that, Onii-san shifted his gaze immediately to where Aslin was playing.

(Lutz)「Wasn’t the Usagi-san I gave her able to make her smile…?」

(Yuki)「Until today, out of four people, four enjoyed the Usagi-san. Whether it increase or decrease in amount, in the end, everything will depend on you, Lutz.」

(Lutz)「Able to increase…?」

(Yuki)「Of course, if you do your best here. This kind of exclusive product will never be a bother. I want it as one of this place’s specialty.」

(Lutz)「You are as careless as ever. But my mind is still not clear… I think that I will get better by tomorrow. So I will go out first…」

After I said that and when I tried to stand, my vision distorted.
Was it as this guy said yesterday, because of hot water?

(Yuki)「Here, I didn’t know how long you did, but because you entered the bath earlier it was likely to happen.」

(Lutz)「Sorry」

You helped me Onii-san, as expected of you.
To be honest, I don’t care if you can see my naked body, but to be held by Onii-san’s arm is another story…

(Yuki)「Yosh, everyone let’s go. Give me a little help here. Lutz isn’t feeling well because of the hot water.」

(Aslin)「Yes」

(Philia)「Roger」

(Labiris)「Oh, right now I’m feeling dizzy because of the heat…」

(Yuki)「Come on Labiris, don’t joke with that. It’s dangerous for her life.」

After speaking with the three children, I was carried by Onii-san in the princess carry position without difficulty toward the dressing room.

(Lutz)「O, Onii-san!?What with that way of carrying!?」

(Yuki)「Oh, it’s a method I had read once in a Roman. I didn’t know if you would be pleased by this or not but I had to try. And please, you can only hold a grudge against yourself as you were the one drowning because of hot water.」

This person is romantic in strange ways.

(Labiris)「Tche…!!」

Labiris-chan, you are already like the legal wife so don’t click your tongue like that.

You’re scary.