Translated by: yAmi

｢It’s here, the snake.｣

Kyaa!! A hoa.r.s.e shriek could be heard. I can’t be sure if what he did was for the sake of Alan and Cain-bouchama or to protect himself when the frightened knight dash off carrying both of them. Only after a distance did he stop running while hugging them with his burly arms.

This knight shows no sign of being useful at all.

Using the Yomogi that I had bought earlier, I squished and lumped them together in a ball so that holding it becomes easier. After collecting 2 long twigs, I used the twigs to pierce into the lump of Yomogis, and set them alight with the flame from the lantern.

Ascertaining that the lumps have caught fire, I pulled them out of the flame and lightly swung the twigs, thus extinguishing the fire on them, making it such that it gave off smoke only. Next I inserted the smoking lumps inside the hole.

This was a tactic to smoke the snakes out. Besides, Yomogi could be used like this since the smoke from it repels the snakes.

Large amount of smoke billowed out and immediately, the effects could be seen. 2 snakes slithered out from their holes. I had a.s.sumed that there was only one snake but look like there was actually two. A married couple perhaps?

Soon after, another manly shriek could be heard from the escort knight, but hey, the snakes wasn’t even heading in his direction. The snakes slithered towards the bushes behind a big tree.

Temporarily pulling the Yomogi out, I once again thrust the twig in to make sure there wasn’t any more snakes inside and from what I could see, it should be alright now. However, I can’t be 100% sure.

｢Are the snakes totally driven out?｣ (TN: said Cain-bouchama, I think)

The chicken knight made his way back discreetly and so, Alan and Cain-bouchama finally came along.

｢I am not certain but it is very likely that the snakes have left their hole. I had expected only one snake but two appeared and it shocked me for a moment…… still I doubt there would be another one. I suppose.｣

Saying that, I resolved myself to put my hand inside the snake’s hole and  found an object that feels like a copper coin. I’m so glad that the coin was at a place where my hands could reach. Also, there weren’t anymore snakes in the hole.

｢Here you go. Hold on tight to it kay?｣

I pa.s.sed over the copper coin to the kid that had dropped it. The kid repeatedly expressed his grat.i.tude to me, and in order to stop him, I told him that I had to make my way to the pharmacy before it closes. He panicked and gave his final thanks before running off towards the market.

He was so desperate for the sake of his mom, and almost cried too.

｢Oi! Ryou! What are you doing!｣

Alan grabbed my shoulders and yelled menacingly at me without warning.

｢Huh, all I did was return the kid’s copper coin?｣

｢I already saw that! That’s not what I was referring to!｣

Alan started raging all of a sudden. Frankly, I don’t understand why. My usual guess is that he has a short temper and his fuse got triggered. This time, however, I have no clue.

It was as though a question mark popped above my head. With good timing, the coach arrived and one of the bodyguard knight returned.

｢Anything happened?｣

He alternated his eyes between his cowering co-worker and the Alan that was angrily staring at me. Cain-bouchama broke the silence.

｢Uh huh, some stuff happened but, it’s okay now. Let’s go back.｣

Cain-bouchama walked back to the coach and seeing as he did so, Alan clicked his tongue and followed behind.

Tilting my head in confusion, I followed them back to the coach.

The atmosphere in the coach was utterly cold. Dreadfully gloomy. Apart from the pale-faced knight who had earlier exposed his pathetic self, even Cain-bouchama seemed to be angry at me too.

I scanned through my memories of the snake incident to see what might have enraged both of them but still didn’t manage to understand anything.

｢Ryou, you have no idea why Alan and I are mad at you?｣ Cain-bouchama muttered faintly.

Alan rages at me as regularly as the number of meals I have but this time, Cain-bouchama was mad at me too. This is a first I believe.

｢I’m sorry for angering you. I have absolutely no clue how I made you guys livid at me. Cain-bouchama is actually angry too right?｣

｢Of course. …… Ryou has to really take care of herself more carefully.｣

Of myself? Did I hear that right?

｢Ryou said it herself right? Specifically that you were 『not certain』. So this means that there was a possibility that there might still be snakes in there, am I not wrong? Despite that, you examined the hole personally with your hands without any hint of hesitation. Alan and I were shocked.｣

Summing it up, what do you actually mean? Considering what happened in the end, there weren’t any snakes in there, and I managed to pick up the copper coin, so there shouldn’t be any problems. Why would you all be crossed at me?

｢Your face says that you still don’t get it huh｣ Cain-bouchama laughed scornfully.

To think that Cain-bouchama would laugh at me like that. The attack power of Cain-bouchama sneering at me was too high.

｢Basically, Alan, and of course, including myself had been worried for you. We were upset that you acted without any regards to your safety. If there had been a snake, what would happen? The snakes could be poisonous and in the worst case scenario, you might get bitten and would die.｣

Worried? I made them worried and angered them because of that?

Sitting next to Cain-bouchama was Alan who was gazing outside awkwardly while in a bad mood.

｢In fact, Ryou hasn’t been prioritising your own health on many other occasions. It was so when you accepted Alan’s duel…… I shall repeat myself, I want you to cherish yourself more.｣

I could only say sorry, reply that I understood and that I’ll pay more attention in the future. From then on, I was lost for words throughout the journey on the coach.

I had been chided by a 8-year-old boy. Still, this feeling doesn’t feel bad at all.

I tried to reel in on my memories to see if there had been anyone that got mad at me because he or she was worried for me but no one came to mind. I don’t usually involve myself in exceedingly dangerous incidents in the past though. Anyways, it seems that recently, I feel like I have gotten reckless. Nevertheless, I actually made these little kids concerned for me.

Recalling the angry faces of Alan and Cain, I can’t help but feel a sense of warmth, a warmth that cannot be swallowed no matter how hard I try to force it down my throat. It remained trapped in my chest. I can’t really find the words to describe this accurately though.

I never expected that I, as a maid, would vow in my heart to take care of them bravely. However, even more strangely, for their sake and not only because I’m their maid, I would push to my very limits for them.