Chapter 6

About the time Dieter had succeeded in waking up half the people in the village—

Bertram reached the restaurant. Carla was opening the door and coming out with her face fully scrunched up, and she was taken aback when she saw Bertram.

“What in the world is going on? Huh?”

“I have brought Miss Anna back.”

Bertram undid his cloak’s knot. Only then was Anna released from his back, where she had been completely swaddled in the fur cloak.

“Miss Anna, you have reached your home.”

Anna lifted her head up.

In her spinning world, the few things she could recognize was the astonished face of her mother, the expressionless Bertram, and the neighbors peeking over the walls.

“Ha…. Ahahahahah…..”

“Oh my, it seems some of the symptoms have remained. Mrs. Carla, if you have water—”

“I’m laughing because I’m about to die of frustration!”

While Anna was kicking Bertram’s thigh weakly, Bertram wiped Anna’s face with his fur cloak.

This was the first and worst escort of her life.

After that, it seemed like a lot of the talk went around in the restaurant.

‘Seemed,’ because Anna was unable to withstand the last symptom, ‘drowsiness.’

Carla brought Anna into their room and threw her onto the bed as she muttered.

“Dean, that b*st*rd. Can’t even act his age—what kind of dangerous thing did he do?”

‘Dean, that should be mom’s friend; why was his name coming up now, I wonder. Mom, aren’t you angry at Mr. Bertram?’

But she had no chance to ask.

Anna fell asleep; when she opened her eyes again, the first thing she could see was the morning shade shimmering on her old ceiling.

She had returned to her daily life.

‘I honestly thought I was going to die yesterday.’

When she rubs her eyes, crusts fall away from them. Anna hazily reminisced about yesterday’s events. Seeing how she had laughed and cried like she was crazy, there must have been a poisonous mushroom included somewhere in the dish that Bertram had made.

But rather than irritation, worry preceded her feelings.

‘Mr. Bertram must’ve put it in there unknowingly. What if mom tries to skin that person alive? He tried in his own way to save me!’

He’d rolled Anna into his fur cloak, hefted her up, and ran, and when Anna threw up because of motion sickness, he’d stopped, pounded her on the back for her, and even wiped her face.

When he’d seen that the symptoms still did not disappear, he’d had Anna cling onto his back, swathed her in his cloak like a sling, and ran at once into the village.

‘This was the first time I’ve been piggybacked since I’ve become an adult. That was super uncomfortable. Are all men’s backs like that?’

It was so large that it was hard to hold on to anywhere, and it was too firm to lean against.

However, he had been pouring his focus onto whatever was happening on top of his back. Every time Anna began hiccupping in the midst of her laughter and tears, he would stop and soothe Anna.

Not very helpful, but it was definitely an action that came from goodness.

‘Would mom look at Mr. Bertram kindly even if I told her all of this?’

Worst case scenario: he was already dead, having been skinned.

Best case scenario: he had been chased out with merciful words.

Hoping against hope that it was the second, Anna left her room and went into the restaurant, when—

Anna was met with an unexpected scene.

In the corner of the restaurant sat some bear-like man, chopping onions.

Bertram.

He noticed Anna’s gaze first.

“Good morning.”

“Good…. morning.”

After uttering a morning greeting like he had memorized it, he began focusing on his onions again.

Arm muscles too sturdy to be used on onions chop away on the cutting board. The sinews on the back of his hands every time it moves towards the board are as thick as the roots of a tree.

As Anna gaped blankly at the scene in front of her, Carla gave a shout.

“Oi, Anna! What’s got you staring at so idiotically?”

“Mom….. That person Bertram, why is he in the kitchen?”

“You threw up on that guy’s back yesterday. I told him I’ll wash his clothes, so he can stay here until it dries. Crikey, it looked like that cloak’ll take three days to dry.”

Only then did Anna realize what Bertram was wearing. That was two shirts that Hans used to wear when he’d been alive, sewn together to make something that was closer to being a fabric made to temporarily cover one’s body rather than clothes.

He wouldn’t be able to go to other villages looking like that, that was for sure.

Anna stuck close to her mother’s side and whispered.

“Mom, weren’t you trying to chase that person out earlier though?”

“I was. If this daughter of mine didn’t throw up on that guy’s clothes, I would have had him sent away immediately.”

“……I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I know. You know that b*st*rd Dean from my friends? He apparently recommended rima fly agaric mushrooms to that guy intentionally. He said he didn’t like a suspicious man sauntering ‘round our village, or whatever. Since he’s had a rough time because of our villagers, I can’t chase him off right away.”

Carla’s finger then twirled around in empty air before it stamped itself on Anna’s forehead with a tap.

“Besides, my daughter seems to be chasing that guy around to feed him, too. If that’s the case, better have him where I can see him.”

“It’s not like that!”

“Never mind. At least now that he’s not bringing up the debt talk, it’s been better. He seems to listen when I ask him to do things.”

“What’s so good about someone who you need to order around.”

“Says the daughter who didn’t listen to her mom. Go wash your face before you become more useless than he is!”

Carla knocked on Anna’s head with a clang, then stood up.

But Anna did not stand up immediately, and only stared blankly towards the kitchen.

Her everyday routine, reclaimed. And one dark man that was naturally included, as if he had always been there.

Noticing Anna’s stare, he raises a hand and waves it.

Seeing him do that without a single expression on his face was a bit scary.

‘Is he pretending to be glad to see me, or is he trying to say ‘I saw you throw up’.’

Even as she questioned him, Anna waved her hand back.

Bertram then folded his other fingers and tried raising his thumb up.

Without meaning to, Anna burst out laughing.

Now Bertram nodded to himself like he had done everything he was supposed to do and moved his line of sight to the cutting board.

Next to the cutting board were all the spicy ingredients that Carla disliked preparing. Without grumbling at all, Bertram chopped up spicy peppers.

Not a single complaint, even as he did all kinds of housework.

He suddenly calls random people ladies in one moment, and talks about honor and whatever the next.

“Really, that man, what exactly is he….?”