Chapter 16: A Mutt’s Life! But it was actually a loyal dog’s life!
AN: Suddenly serious (´・ω・｀)
Five days have passed since then and as Hecate said, Mary-ojousama got a fever.
It’s just that, her condition was even worse than how I thought it would be.
Everyone else was taking it lightly so I thought for sure that it wouldn’t be anything serious.
But that was a huge mistake.
Everyone is now staying in Mary-ojousama’s room to take care of her.
The sun has already sunk halfway so a fleeting orange light that was shining through the window.
The next morning, Ojou-sama’s condition got even worse. She can no longer stand and was just lying in bed breathing heavily like she was in pain.
She has an ice pack on her head and in her armpits but it’s not really having any effect.
「Is she taking her medicine properly?」
Hecate is currently holding ojou-sama’s hand to check her pulse.
「Yes. She always takes the prescribed amount ever after meals」
Miranda-san the maid replied to her.
「Really? Then, if her fever gets any worse, add this to the medicines she’s taking」
Hecate took a small bottle filled with red liquid from inside of her bag and poured it into a small glass container.
「Mary-chan, can you sit up?」
「……yes, Hecate-sensei……」
As she was trying to get her trembling body up, a large hand supported Ojou-sama’s back.
「Father, thank you……」
「Umu umu, just take it slowly」
While papa-san was supporting her back, ojou-sama got up.
Does her swollen throat hurt? Even though it’s not that much, Ojou-sama is having trouble swallowing the medicine.
「*cough*……*cough*……」
「Good job. Well then, you should lie down now. You’ll feel even better soon」
She was gently laid on the bed and the ice pack put back on her head.
「Kuーn kuーn (Ojou-sama, are you okay……?)」
With my tail lifelessly hanging behind me, I was anxious as I stayed by Ojou-sama’s side.
Everyone is acting like this is just something ordinary so you might think that it’s not much but it seems like it’s extremely painful for Ojou-sama.
I’ve caught the flu before but it wasn’t anything like this.
As I was sniffing her, Ojou-sama placed her slender fingers on my head.
If she was her usual self then she would energetically pat my head but right now, her hands were frail.
「I’m alright Routa…… I’m going to get better quickly so…… let’s play in the lake again…… Next time, let’s go together with Hecate-sensei……」
Ojou-sama’s sweet voice became hoarse and it’s making it difficult to understand her.
「Ara, that makes me happy. I’ll have to make sweets again, won’t I?」
「fufu……, sensei’s handmade sweets, I’m really looking forward to it……」
That joke that Hecate said out of nowhere caused Ojou-sama to smile for a moment then the hand that was stroking my head slipped and fell down.
「Kuーn! (O-ojou-sama!)」
「You can relax. She’s just asleep because of the medicine」
Hecate breathed out a sigh of relief as she placed Ojou-sama’s arm back into the futon.
What’s this? You panicked as well, didn’t you?
「I think her fever should go down after a while so give her a healthy meal and let her take her medicines when she wakes up. Don’t forget to make sure she drinks plenty of fluids as well. Until then, it will probably be unpleasant for her so you should also wipe off her sweat from time to time. This red liquid is a strong medicine so you should only let her take this once a day, twice at most. And there should be at least six hours in between doses」
「Yes, certainly. As you will」
After receiving Hecate’s rapid-fire instructions, Miranda-san respectfully bowed to her.
「He-hecate-sensei! My daughter! Is my daughter going to be alright!? Isn’t her condition this time much worse than it usually is?!」
While looking like he’s in even more pain than Ojou-sama, papa-san who was watching his daughter’s sleeping face clung on to Hecate.
「Be quiet Gandolf. You’re in front of a sick person. Your body is the only thing that got bigger, isn’t it? Everything else has stayed the same. Your splendid mustache is going to cry you know?」
「Uu, but still. But still……」
「It’s alright. If she gets some rest, I’m sure that she’ll get better in about a month. This happens every year, you understand that right?」
「Ye-yes……」
Looking at him like that, my respect for papa-san keeps on dropping and it can’t be stopped.
Seeing the usually stern papa-san like this, as expected, it’s hard not to get disappointed.
Well, no matter what world it is, a father gets like this when it comes to his daughter.
As an act of kindness, I’ll just pretend that I haven’t seen anything.
At any rate, Hecate, how old are you really?
It seems like she knows papa-san from his youth. You might not be able to tell from her appearance but it seems like she’s considerably older than how she looks.
She’s an elf so that should have probably been obvious.
「Routa-kun?」
Wha!? A smiling Hecate is looking down on me!
Just smiling quietly like that’s really scary!
「Kuーn kuーn (H-hey, Hecate. I have something I want to ask you. Is that alright?)」
With the way I splendidly handled that, I got Hecate to stop pursuing the topic.
「I’ll head downstairs for a bit okay? Gandolf, you shouldn’t push yourself as well. Make sure you take a proper rest」
While I was wondering if I was able to convey my intention, Hecate left her seat.
Then I casually went after her.
† † †
Moving away from the public eye, we came to the courtyard and sat by the shade of a tree.
Looking up, since it’s going to be evening soon, a gloomy sky could be seen.
The violet sunset sky letting gave off a lonely feel and the cold night air is already starting to creep in.
「So, you wanted to ask me something? Well, I can already tell what it is even if you don’t say anything though」
「Wan wan (Yeah, that’s right. I can clearly see that Hecate’s a really amazing witch and doctor so I know that it may be presumptuous of me to state my opinion as an amateur but……)」
「You want something that can improve Mary-chan’s condition even by just a bit right?」
Completing my sentence for me, Hecate tilted her head as she looked at me.
「Wan (Yeah……)」
If there’s something like that then she would have probably used it a long time ago.
Even I think that it was a stupid question to ask.
However, I’ll just endure it.
I know that you can’t just find something like that anywhere but I just had to ask.
Too bad.
It seems like I also did something that was unlike me.
I can’t really say anything about how papa-san acted earlier now.
「Wan wan(Sorry, I said something stupid. Just forget about it. I’m sure that there’s nothing convenient like that that’s just lying around)」
「There is one you know?」
「Wafu!? (Really!? Wait, really?!)」
Because of my surprise, I had to ask twice.
「I guess I should explain from the beginning」
Hecate waved her wand around in the air then a light stayed at the area that her wand passed through and just like drawing something in the ground.
「The medicine that was used just now is just something that treats the symptoms. It may specialize in maintaining her physical constitution and treating her fever but it doesn’t have the effect of curing the cause of her illness」
「Wan (Fumu fumu……)」
「Her fit in itself would only last for about a month but during that time, the only thing we can do is give her basic treatment……at least with what we have on hand」
「Wan (Huh? On hand?)」
「Yeah. I can make something that can be considered a miracle drug but only if I have a lot of the ingredients needed」
So for short, as long as she has the ingredients, she can make a medicine that’s even more effective than that?
「Drachen Nichts Grass」 [TL: The original text just has the kanji for dragon, zero, and grass. I just thought that sounded better than dragon zero grass…]
「Wan? (Drachen Nichts Grass?)」
「It’s something that only grows inside a dragon’s lair, an elusive medicinal plant. I myself have only come into contact with that ingredient twice. It loses effectiveness the dryer it gets but even so, it would still be befitting of being called a miracle drug if we made something with that」
「Wan wan (Let’s ask papa-san then……)」
This family has an impressive amount of assets you know?
If we tell that to papa-san then I’m sure that he can get his hands on some.
「That’s not something that you typically find on the market. An adventurer who could face a dragon, there hasn’t been one like that recently. Even if we submit a request to the guild, something like that might be difficult to obtain. It’s also likely that we’ll receive a fake item as well」
「Wan (gumumu……)」
Dragon, huh.
Something like that would be really strong, wouldn’t it?
Moreover, nobody even knows where to find one.
「H-o-w-e-v-e-r」
「Wau? (However?)」
「Compared to ancient times, this vast forest doesn’t get any trespassers anymore. If that’s the case, could it be that there’s a rare dragon residing there somewhere?」
While unnaturally crossing her hands and pushing her index finger to her cheek, Hecate said like she was playing dumb.
「……Kuーn (Are you perhaps telling me to look for it?)」
「Fufu. But that’s impossible for an ordinary pet dog, right? Just for an ordinary pet dog though」
Hecate gave me a suggestive smile as she coquettishly played with my ear using her fingers.
「I should get back soon. I already told you the information so how you use it is up to you. You don’t have to worry though since Mary-chan’s condition would always go back to normal within a month. That I can guarantee」
Hecate stood up, brushed off the fallen leaves on her thighs and went back inside.
「……ku (Fumu……)」
Left all alone under the shade of the tree, I started contemplating.
My goal isー
to spend my life living a dog’s pet life.
If it’s dangerous then I absolutely don’t want to do it. I don’t like scary and painful things.
In the first place, I already vowed never to work again.
No to being a corporate slave. No to manual labor.
I want to spend my time eating delicious things, sleep as much as I want and living an eternal slacker’s everyday life.
That’s all.
Really, that’s all of it.
「……(That’s whyー)」
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There’s no reason for me not to go look for it.
I’m not having an enjoyable pet’s life at all if Ojou-sama is in pain.
I can only lead a dog’s life if I’m by Mary-ojousama’s side after all.
「Wan! (I’ll be back before you know it so until then, farewell, MAI HAUSU!)」
D-don’t misunderstand.
This isn’t just for the sake of Ojou-sama, this is so that I can maintain my way of life.