CH 33

The next day, as usual, I had to ride on Gail-san’s back.

I had never even ridden a horse before, and I certainly had never dreamed that I would experience riding on the back of a horse-like creature, a lion, or a bear in the past few days.

(It’s just between you and me, but I kind of wanted to ride on Glenn-san, too.)

Gail-san’s running style was unique because he is a bear and has short limbs. Although his running style was a little up and down, it was comfortable because he ran carefully.

We had been running for about half a day, but we hadn’t encountered any magical beasts since then. We kept going smoothly and finally made it through the forest.

[Gail] “It’s not a good idea to keep running with a beast from here on out. Chika, I’m sorry, but we have to ride Noah again, is that okay?”

[Chika] “Yes, of course. Thank you very much, Gail-san, Douglas-san. It was very comfortable!”

When I got off from Gail-san, Douglas-san immediately picked me up.

[Gail] “Hey, Doug!”

[Douglas] “Chika hasn’t ridden with me yet, right? So come on over and sit on my lap.”

Gail-san still seemed to want to say something, but perhaps the memory of the “discussion” still lingered in his mind. He reluctantly returned to his original form and climbed on to Noah.

I was pulled up on top of Rex by Douglas-san, sat on his lap facing him, and was hugged by him.

That’s right.

It’s that cuddly doll pose.1Click here: The Cuddly Doll

This position is certainly more comfortable than sitting behind Douglas-san. But it’s still embarrassing.

After passing through the forest, the road was well maintained and could be called a highway.

Fields of what looked like wheat spread out all around us, and I remembered someone told me that Leonidas was also putting a lot of effort into agriculture.

” Chika, it’s only a straight road to the capital now. It won’t take long to get there. You can sleep if you want.”

“If possible, I’d like to see what kind of country Leonidas is, so I’ll do my best to stay awake. But I’m sorry if I fall asleep. I can’t help but get sleepy when I’m being held…”

“Yeah, I don’t mind. But the scenery from the road here is almost the same. I don’t think there is anything interesting to see.”

Indeed that there was no change in the landscape of the wheat field as far as the eye could see.

The thing with this position is that you can directly feel your partner’s body heat and even their heartbeat.

In addition, the smell of my [pair], though not as good as when we were exchanging magic power, made me feel very relaxed.

As expected, my eyelids were already heavy.

“―ka, Chika, can you wake up?”

Douglas-san’s voice woke me up.

It seems that while I was asleep, we almost reached the royal capital.

In order to enter the capital, I had to show my guild tag at the checkpoint to prove my identity.

There are many parts that I am not allowed to show, so Gail-san taught me how to show only the parts that I am allowed to show.

After waiting in line at the checkpoint for a while, our turn came.

One by one, we presented our guild tags and passed through without any problems.

I was very nervous when it was my turn. But since I was a human, I was only being looked at, and I passed without any problems.

When it was Douglas-san’s turn, the person who was probably the leader at the checkpoint was staring at him. However, when Douglas-san looked back at him, the person nodded his head as if he understood and no problem arose.

[Chika] “So this is Leonidas, the country where the two of you were born. I’m getting a little nervous.”

[Gail] “I’d like to show you around the city, but I’m sure you’re tired from all the traveling. So first, I think we should head to my parents’ house.”

[Chika] “Gail-san’s parents’ house?”

[Douglas] “We have a house that we used to live in, but we can’t live there right away. You can use my parents’ house, but, you know, you don’t like formalities, do you Chika?”

Douglas-san’s family home is, in other words, the place where all the royal family members live!

I’m not sure what kind of place the royals in this world live in, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a private home in this area.

It’s too much of a hurdle for a suspicious person like me to suddenly visit such a place.

“Let’s go to Gail-san’s parents’ house, please!”

“Got it! But my parents are a little strange, so be prepared for that…”

[Chika] “Oh, by the way, it would be great if you could tell us about your family members.”

[Gail] “It’s just my parents. I’m an only child.”

[Douglas] “In my place, there is my dad, my brother, my brother’s wife, and their two kids.”

Umm, I’m sure that Gail-san’s father was a knight commander.

His spouse should be my mother-in-law, but I don’t know if I should call her mother-in-law in this world as well.

And in Douglas-san’s place, his brother is the king and his consort is the queen, right?

T/N: Please remember that this is a world with no women. The mother-in-law and the queen part is only referring to the title, not the gender.

And then, those two children are the princes and Douglas-san’s father is the former king……. This world is too different from my previous one.

I’ll have to ask more about this later.

“Now, everyone, I have some errands that Mintz has asked me to do, so I will excuse myself.”

Glenn-san suddenly spoke up.

“Eh, Glenn-san, are we going to say goodbye here?”

“No, I just have a few things to do. I’m working on some stuff at the guild, so you can always come to see me there.”

[Douglas] “Glenn, I’m sorry to have dragged you all the way out here. Thanks for your help.”

“No, no, no. If I could be any help for you and Chika-kun, that makes it all worthwhile.”

“We’ll see you at the guild soon.”

“Yes! Then, Chika-kun, please be careful not to be reckless!”

Glenn-san climbed on Mintia and left, while saying so loudly.

“This is kind of lonely, isn’t it?”

[Gail] “You’ve got us. We won’t give you time to feel lonely, so don’t worry.”

[Douglas] ” Chika, whenever you feel lonely, just tell us.”

Anyway, I’m still on top of the Rex, and a cuddly doll for Douglas-san.

“Speaking of which, I’d like to ask you, is there a word for mother in this world?”

“Yes, there is. Don’t call the animus that gave birth to the child mother.”

I see.

“If that’s the case, then Gail’s mother would be my mother-in-law, but should I call her foster mother?”

“I’m not sure. My mother is like my father. They’re very peculiar, as I said before.”

Gail-san looked troubled.

“I understand. I think I’ll start by saying hello to him and ask him myself.”

“There’s no need to be so uptight.”

“Yes!”

We didn’t have much time to look at the town, so we let Arvis and the others walked for a while.

Then, we reached a mansion with a huge garden.

[Gail] “Chika, this is my parents’ house.”

[Chika] “Whoa, it’s huge!”

[Douglas] “You can’t help but notice that it’s the home of a retired knight commander, right?”

[Gail] “Don’t worry, my parents don’t like to be extravagant, so they had to make do with this house to keep up appearances. There are hardly any servants. There’s no need to worry about it.”

I got off from Arvis and Gail-san took me by the hand.

When we walked through the gate and the garden, an old man dressed as a butler came running towards us from afar at great speed.

But his physique was frighteningly good.

Is he as large as Gale-san…?

“Young master! Young master!”

Upon seeing the old man’s face, Gale-san’s face was distorted.

“Young master! Welcome back! This Sebastian has been anxiously awaiting your return!”

“For God’s sake, will you stop calling me ‘young master’…?”

“What are you talking about? The young master will always be a young master to me. No matter if he is forty or fifty, that will never change!”

“I see…”

I was surprised by the existence of an old butler named Sebastian. When I was thinking that it would be perfect if he wore a monocle, I saw that he had one around his eye already.

I guessed from the shape of his ears that Sebastian was probably a bear, too.

“Well, then, young master! I see that you have finally found your partner. Please allow this Sebastian to greet him as well.”

“Right. Chika, this is Sebastian, the man who is in charge of everything in our house. Can you show yourself to him?”

I hurriedly took off my hood and bowed deeply in front of Sebastian.

“I’m in Gale-san’s care. I am Shinra Chikayuki. I look forward to meeting you.”

When I finished bowing and looked at Sebastian-san, I saw that he had an astonished expression on his face.

“Young master, I have been trying to teach you the ways of humanity since you were a child. And yet, for to make move to such an innocent boy, this Sebastian is shameful!”

[Gail] “Wa― Wait a minute, Sebastian. Chika may look young, but he is a full-grown adult.”

“No. This Sebastian will not be deceived by such a thing. Such a young and adorable boy. There is no way he could be a grown man.”

[Chika] “It is true! I may look like a child, but I’m 16 years old. If you are in doubt, I can show you my tag.”

Sebastian seemed to be quite excited.

I’m not going to let Gail-san being humiliated like this.

“Hmm, he certainly has a calm manner of speaking and a graceful demeanor. I shall beg your pardon. I see, you have become the young master’s companion. This Sebastian could not be happier for you.”

[Chika] “That’s not true. I’m the one who’s always been indebted to Gail-san.”

“Not at all. The fact that you are our young master’s partner makes you my master. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you, young mistress.”

T/N: Again. The young mistress part only refers to the position of Sebastian’s young master’s partner. Chika is a male, as we all know.

Sebastian-san gave us a deep and impressive bow.

T/N: Impressive bow. Imagine a bow done by a legit aristocratic butler instead of commoners. The form, the angle, everything is refined. That kinda impressive bow.

[Chika] “The young mistress is a bit…”

[Sebastian] “So, Master Chikayuki, then?”

“No. You can call me Chika, like everyone else.”

“Impossible, sir! There’s no way I can call young master’s partner that casually.”

[Gail] “Chika, I’m sorry, but will you please let Sebastian do as he pleases?”

[Chika] “I understand. Then, Sebastian-san, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Please just call me Sebastian or Sebas.”

Ugh, it’s really difficult to do that. Douglas-san, who had been watching the situation, took off his hood and opened his mouth.

T/N: Welcome to Asia! It’s a place where honorifics matter. A lot.

” Sebastian, you’re still the same. But I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Oh my God, it’s Douglas-sama! But your arm is…”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, can we talk about this later? It’s a long story to tell here. I have to greet my master first.”

“You are right. I’m sorry for prolonging our talk here. So, let me take care of Arvis for you. The Master and Mistress are already waiting for you in the hall.”

Sebastian took the reins of Rex and Noah, bowed deeply again, and left.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“Yes!”

Gail-san held my hand again and we reached the entrance of the house.

Gail-san’s parents are just up ahead.

I could feel my heart beating wildly just thinking about it.

1Click here: The Cuddly Doll