Chapter 745: The Wish of my Beloved Retainer ②

I walked restlessly down the corridor, which seemed somewhat quiet because there weren't many people living here.

Today was Mom and Dad's first day on the job…… as interns at Kuro's magic tool trading company. It's almost time for them to come home…… Will they be alright?

Of course, I quite trust the Seditch Magic Tool Trading Company, and Mom and Dad have more work experience than I do, so it may seem strange for me to be the one worrying about them.

But this is a different world for the two of them, and even though I'm somewhat used to this world by now, I remember how I felt confused at first. That's why I'm worried about them.

As I was walking down the corridor with that thought in mind, a little further down the hallway…… I heard cheerful voices from around the corner. Those were definitely Mom and Dad's voices. Thank goodness. They sounded cheerful, so it must have gone well. I guess I was just worrying too much huh?

After patting my chest, I tried to head in the direction of the voices…… but stopped when I heard the content of their conversation.

[Even so, Kaito had become amazing, didn't he!? I didn't know that Kaito had done such great things.]

[Well, Kaito has never been the type to boast about things, so he might be feeling embarrassed if he knows about how we know about this.]

……Eh? What's that? What is Mom and Dad talking about? It sounds like they were talking about me but…… great things?

It was a subject that made me extremely curious, so I stopped and listened. Mom and Dad also seemed to be standing around having that conversation and didn't seem like they would walk towards me.

[I guess we would have to thank Leonora-san for this huh. Thanks to the books she lent to us, we were able to learn more about Kaito's exploits.]

[Yeah, even so, these really are amazing exploits, aren't they…… I can certainly understand why the Elves are calling Kaito their Hero.]

The heck is this, I have a really bad feeling about this…… Books? Elves? Remember, did something happen related to them……

—————Moreover, there are also books and plays based on Miyama-kun's exploits.

Ahh…… Ahhhhhhh!? I- I remember now! There's that book that Rei-san and Fia-san mentioned when Sieg-san and I went to Rigforeshia…… So many things happened after that, like becoming lovers with Sieg-san, so I completely forgot about that!

S- S- Speaking of which, Rei-san did say something about that book having a sequel coming out afterwards……

[For him to even have eight volumes of such a book, I'm so proud of him as his parent.]

[What can I say, children do grow up so fast.]

Eight volumes!? Eh? No way, there's that many of my books out there? No, no, how in the heck did they write eight volumes worth of stuff about me!?

Speaking of which, I think Rei-san and Fia-san said that the book made it look like I was the one who defeated the Black Bears……

[……Kaito "kicking several hundreds" of these Black Bears, are these strong monsters?]

[Hmmm, I think so. Even a normal bear is a threat to us, so if there are several hundreds of those bears, Kaito must be very strong to defeat all of them.]

[Kaito told us that he can use magic, but he isn't that strong though. Was he just being modest?]

[Couldn't it be that the object of comparison is just too strong? It might mean that he is comparing himself to Shallow Vernal-sama or Kuromu-sama.]

Eeeeehhhhhhh!? Wait a moment there…… I don't know what's going on, but isn't the story taking an unbelievable turn!? I'm really not strong! Heck, I've only ever been compared to slimes and goblins, you know!!!?

[As expected of my Kaito! He's my son that I'm proud of!]

[Oi, oi, he's also my son, okay?]

Both of you need to open up your eyes…… That son you're talking about is straight out of a fiction book. It's not real, okay…… A- Anyway, the flow of their conversation isn't good, I need to clear up their misunderstanding quickly.

Just as I was about to step out with this in mind, I heard a familiar voice.

[……Oya? Akari-dono and Kazuya-dono, what are you doing, standing around in the hallway?]

[Ahh, Anima-chan! Lookie! Have you seen this book before? It's a book about Kaito's exploits.]

Anima makes her entrance!? T- This is bad, I feel like this would just end up in more misunderstandings. If it's Anima we're talking about, she'll probably raise up my name even higher.

I should have gone out later. No, it shouldn't be too late yet! If I come out now……

[Ahh, I've read that book myself. However, rather than talking about the real story, the contents of the book have been overly exaggerated.]

…………………………………..Oya?

[Eh? Is that so?]

[Yes, in the first volume that Akari-dono has now, it says that Master was the one who wiped out all the Black Bears, but that wasn't the case. Master had only fought one Black Bear…… well, how should I say this…… that one Black Bear was me.]

[Kaito fought with Anima-chan!?]

[Yes, I'll tell you about the particulars later…… but at that time, Master stood up to protect Yuzuki-dono, whose legs were trembling and unable to move, even though he understood the difference in our abilities. There is no doubt that his courage is to be admired, and seeing the strength of Master's heart made me wish to serve him. However, it was Lilia-dono who actually defeated me.]

It was an unexpected turn of events. I thought she was going to excessively raise up my name again, but what Anima told them was exactly what had happened.

[It was also not Master who annihilated the Black Bear horde, but Isis-dono. Well, even then…… If Master hadn't been there, Isis-dono wouldn't have shown up, so in that sense, it might not be wrong to say that Rigforeshia was saved from the Black Bear horde thanks to Master.]

[I – I see……]

[As for the content regarding the Harvest Festival, Master's great record was largely due to Lillywood-dono's help. Though I say that, even without Lillywood-dono's help, Master would still have won by a large margin. It's only natural that his kind wishes for Rigforeshia afterward should be praised, and without a doubt, Master is a benefactor and a Hero for Rigforeshia. However, as it is a book for the masses, the content seems to be a bit over-embellished.]

As Anima calmly cleared up the misunderstanding that Mom and Dad may have in mind, I could sense that her mentality had somehow changed from back then.

[Fumu fumu…… Thank you for telling us about this, Anima-chan.]

[No,and if it's possible…… Could you please not tell Master about those books? Master isn't one who likes being overly praised, so I think those books will only burden Master's mind.]

Anima replied to Mom's words in a warm and gentle voice.

[Ahh, thank you so much. I almost put unnecessary pressure on Kaito. Even so, Anima-chan is amazing. It's really admirable how you consider Kaito well.]

[Such a thing is to be expected of me as his retainer…… is what I'd like to say, but that's not the case. I'm just doing what I like to do because I want to receive my adored Master's smile. Thus, your praise is unnecessary.]

After hearing those words, I quietly walked away, trying to not make any sound. I also put my hand over my mouth, hiding the smile that was about to appear on my face……

I don't know how to say this…… but hearing Anima's words, who vigorously answered that she was doing this because she likes me…… It somehow makes me feel irresistibly happy.

<Afterword>

She's just telling them the truth, but her love aura isn't hidden at all, so she's just the usual admiring Anima.

Serious-senpai : [Well then, it seems like the Q and A that I answered last time was so popular, so here's the Q and A's second installment!]

? ? ? : [Eh?]

Serious-senpai : [Unnn?]

? ? ? : [No, it's nothing. Please continue.]

Serious-senpai : [Well then, the first question is "Don't the Fox Monster Star and Alice's tone resemble each other?"]

? ? ? : [There were some people asking about that huh…… Please stop fooling around! Listen here, okay? There are a lot of people who misunderstand this, but "Alice-chan normally speaks with honorifics, but it sometimes crumbles down when she feels like it", so she would often interchange between other ending words like "ne? (right?)" or "~su"!]

(T/N: ~su here is, well, hard to describe in english. You know how there are some japanese people/anime characters add "–su" to the end of just about every sentence? Like Ohayou gozaimasu, yabaisu, majidesu, something like that. Fox girl ends every sentence with su, which is something that won't be translated in english)

Serious-senpai : [……When she feels like it?]

? ? ? : [When she feels like it. In fact, there are times when Alice-chan doesn't use those ending words, and rather, there are more times that she doesn't use them at all! Thus, they aren't overlapping at all! You understand? That's going to come out on the periodical test, okay!!!?]

Serious-senpai : [……When you're denying it that much, it makes it seem like you yourself are aware of those similarities……]

? ? ? : [……Should I make you a body that can never appear in the Afterword again?]

Serious-senpai : [Ah, yes, I'm sorry. The Fox Monster Star and Alice aren't even remotely similar and have nothing to do with each other. I remember it clearly…… Well then, let's get back on track and ask the second question "I want to know more about Isis' subordinates". Here, take the floor.]

? ? ? : [The setting for this has been finalized, and they're thinking of releasing an extra chapter about the future around Christmas. It will probably take a long time before they actually appear in the main story.]

(The chapter was posted on 11/29)

Serious-senpai : [I see. Well then, that's it for today's questions. See you next time!]

? ? ? : [……No, like I said…… It was just me answering them……]

T/N: Hey, I'm back. My body is functional enough to translate again yesterday, so here you go.