Chapter 325
Guardianhood
Editor(s): Speedphoenix, Joker
The first thing we did upon returning was announce our presence; each of us said something equivalent to “we’re home” in our own respective ways . We were noticed immediately by s.h.i.+, who greeted us with an energetic “welcome home!” The slime hadn’t even stopped to finish hanging the s.h.i.+rt that she was holding onto before pitter pattering her way over . This prompted Lyuu, who she’d been helping with the laundry, to catch on to our return .
“Welcome home, everyone . I’m real glad to see you’re all back safe ‘n sound!” Unlike the overexcited slime, she had raised her voice in favour of excitedly dropping what she was doing .
The next greeting came from the spook sisters, as all three also happened to be in the living room . Huh… that’s weird .
“Where’s Illuna?”
Generally speaking, the vampire was always the first to greet us when we returned . It was a bit odd that she was missing altogether, as she liked playing with others more than she did herself, and all her friends were present and accounted for . Normally, she’d be tackling me right about now .
“Illuna fell into the river…” The question caused s.h.i.+ to raise her “eyebrows” and frown to express her concern .
Guessing she probably means the river I made in the field?
“Did she incur any injuries?” asked Lefi .
“Illuna was a bit scratched up, but all that was fixed ‘cause s.h.i.+ used her magic and did some healin’,” explained Lyuu . “But fallin’ in ‘n gettin’ soaked made her sick . I think she’s sleepin’ right now . We had her moved to the inn since it gets noisy when we’re workin’, and she needs her rest . ”
“Oh… Fun . ”
In other words, Illuna had come down with a cold .
***
“Can’t we just give her a potion or something and call it a day?”
The question was addressed to Leila . She and I were working together in order to make Illuna a nouris.h.i.+ng, restorative meal .
“Potions should only be used on serious illnesses . ” Unsurprisingly, the answer came alongside a shake of the head . “Studies show that using potions for minor ailments weakens the body in the long term and leads to a dependence on them . As Illuna has only come down with a light cold, I believe it would be best for her if we let her fight it off on her own . ”
I wasn’t all that well versed in immunology myself, but I more or less understood the principle that she was referring to . Using potions most likely prevented the immune system from learning to deal with whatever threat it was that had caused the individual to get sick to begin with .
“I see…” I nodded after internalizing the explanation . “So when’d she catch it again? Yesterday?”
“I believe her symptoms began two nights ago . Yesterday was when we realized that she had caught a cold . ” Leila ladled some rice-based gruel into a bowl . “The porridge is ready, My Lord . Could you please bring it over to her once you’re done?”
“Sure . ” After taking a second glance at the stuff, I realized that it was much more complex than I’d initially suspected . It featured eggs, green onions, and even miniature meatb.a.l.l.s . “Wow, that looks good… Having you here has seriously been a life changer . I almost can’t believe how you make even the simplest dishes super tasty . ”
“I do try my best, My Lord . Seeing everyone enjoy my cooking is incredibly motivating . ” She smiled, softly . “Speaking of which, there’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask . What exactly are you making? I had thought that it was some sort of juice, at first, but that no longer seems to be an accurate description . ”
“It’s an energy drink,” I said . “It’s pretty good for people with colds and whatnot . ”
I’d whipped together a simple, homemade version of the sort of drink whose commercials would feature famous athletes sweating blue and red droplets, the main ingredients of which were lemon juice, salt, and sugar . I’d warmed the whole mixture up and put in a thermos in order to ensure that it retained its temperature .
“That is… interesting . Would you mind providing me with a more detailed explanation, My Lord?”
“Sure, but not right now . Remind me later . ”
After taking a moment to chuckle at Leila’s ever persistent curious streak, I tucked the thermos under my arm, put the bowl the maid had prepared on a tray, and headed over to the resident bedridden vampire .
As walking all the way from the kitchen, which was attached to the true throne room, to the inn was a bit of a pain, I opted to do things the simple way and messed with the true throne room’s door . A few twists of the k.n.o.b was all I needed to redirect it to the inn .
I stepped into the hallway, navigated to her temporary room, and pushed open the sliding door . She was sound asleep in a j.a.panese-style futon with Lefi, who had gone on ahead to check up on her, by her side .
“How is she?” I whispered .
“Sound asleep,” replied Lefi, equally quietly .
I set down both the thermos and the tray on the bamboo-sheet covered floor, and pressed my hand against the young vampire’s forehead . Hmmm… it’s warmer than it should be, but it doesn’t seem to be anything serious . Like Leila said, there shouldn’t really be any issues just letting her fight it off . I bet she’ll be fine in a few days at most, even without any real treatment .
“…Is a cold truly something so miserable?” asked Lefi . “I have not ever caught one myself . ”
“Kinda . The symptoms are varied, but generally speaking, your throat might hurt a bit, your nose might drip, you might find it hard to breathe, you might get a headache, or feel too warm or too cold . The worst part is that you might not be able to fall asleep, even though you feel really sluggish, but that’s pretty much it . It’s not that bad, all things considered . ”
“H-How awful . Should you not administer her a potion?”
“Nah, not this time anyway . She’s only got a bit of a light fever, so I figure she’s probably not doing too terribly . ”
“T-then I suppose I need not be so worried . ”
She breathed a sigh of relief, to which I responded with a gentle smile .
“Leila should be doing the finis.h.i.+ng touches on lunch right about now . Feel free to head back to the castle and start without me . I’ll pop in once I finish checking up on and feeding her . ”
“Very well . I shall reserve a portion for you such that you may warm up it and enjoy it once you have finished . Do not concern yourself with the need to secure any well-desired dishes . You may focus your attention on the necessary treatment . ”
“Thanks . Will do . ”
After watching Lefi’s back until she vanished from sight, I redoubled my focus on the vampire . I lightly placed my hands on her shoulders and gave her a series of gentle shakes .
“Illuna, wake up . It’s time for lunch . ”
“Nnnmmnnn…” Her eyes slowly blinked open . “Huh…? Yuki…? What are you doing here…? I must… be dreaming…”
She had yet to fully awaken, so her words were quiet and disjointed .
“Not this time,” I chuckled . “I just got home . Heard you fell in a river and caught a cold . ”
“Yup… I was looking for pretty rocks, but then I tripped . ” She rubbed her eyes and fully woke herself up .
“I don’t mind you girls playing near the river given that it’s not very deep, or fast enough to wash you away, but you really should be more careful . You probably wouldn’t have gotten away with just a few scratches and a cold if you hit your head when you fell . ”
“I’m sorry . I’ll be more careful next time . ”
“Good girl . ” I ruffled her hair . “Alright, that’s enough scolding . How do you feel about having lunch?”
“Can you feed me? I think it’d make it taste better . ” She was acting a bit more spoiled than usual .
“Guess I don’t have any other choice then . ”
I gave her a rea.s.suring smile as I grabbed the bowl, lifted a spoonful of porridge, and blew it a few times to make sure it was cool enough to eat .
“Thanks!” She showed me a big smile as she gulped it down, before looking up at me and giggling .
“Hm? What’s up?”
“I’m just really happy that everyone’s worried about me . ”
“What else did you expect? We are family, after all . ”
“I know, but I’m still really happy . s.h.i.+ healed me lots, and the sisters kept stopping by to make sure I wouldn’t get bored, since they knew they couldn’t catch my cold . ”
“I guess they really can’t, huh?”
Seeing as how they don’t exactly have bodies to catch them with . …Wait, is it just me, or does this basically confirm that Illuna can communicate with them? Even I can only kinda understand them, because of that whole thing that the dungeon has that lets us more or less interpret each other’s intentions . How the h.e.l.l does she do it…?
“Leila and Lyuu were really worked up too . Leila made me all sorts of sick people food, and spent a lot of time wiping me down and stuff . Lyuu worked really hard to do all the ch.o.r.es so that Leila could spend more time taking care of me . ” She squeezed her blanket with both hands . “I’m really happy and thankful that everyone’s doing so much for me . ”
“Well, in that case, you’ve gotta get better as fast as you can so you can pay them back . ”
“Yup! I’ll do my best to help out as soon as I’m better!” She smiled, then locked her eyes with mine . “Thanks Yuki . All this is thanks to you . ”
“Me?” I c.o.c.ked a brow .
“Mhm . It’s because you care about everyone and work hard to make everyday as fun as you can . That’s why we all like it here so much, and try our best to make everyone else happy . ”
For a moment, I was stunned . Her words had a heavy emotional impact; I felt incredibly proud to be her guardian and father-figure . But as I had no intention of letting said sentiment show, I decided to casually sweep it under the rug with a pat on the head .
Through my hands, I felt her warmth, the warmth of the young life that had entrusted itself to my care . And again, I swore . I swore that I would continue to do everything I could to raise her in her parents’ place . I wasn’t a good role model, I’d never raised a kid before, nor did I have many opportunities to consult someone who had . But I was going to continue manning up and doing as any responsible adult would . At least in front of her . With that said, it wasn’t as if I was simply going to bash my face against the wall and solve any problems I encountered through brute force trial and error . I had every intention of asking Lefi and the others for advice if I needed it . But… is that really good enough? It’s hard to say . I’m still not too sure if I could, one day, bring myself to face her parents with my head held high and tell them that I was able to carry on their will .
“Is something the matter, Yuki?” she asked .
“Nah, don’t worry . It’s nothing . ”
I realized that I’d stopped feeding her . Thankfully, she was still a bit out of it, else she likely would’ve caught on . She’s really sharp, after all…
“Alright, let’s get this bowl of porridge eaten so you can get back to bed . ” I tried my best to speak with a bright, composed tone . “You can’t play if you’re sick, after all . ”
“Okay! I’ll get better as soon as I can so I can play lots!”
The smile she gave me was brilliant, rea.s.suring even, as it contained not a single trace of doubt or fear .