CH 37

─Renneiga’s side─

The humanized Kou was still young, but beautiful.

He had a slender and small body, but enough to know he’s truly a grown man.

It’s a shame that he still spoke the same way as when he was a child.

For Captain also, is he not able to touch Kou since he still speaks that way?

I can see that Kou’s appearance is eye-catching.

That’s why Captain further restrained the surroundings.

…but the next day.

I was surprised to see Captain when he entered the cafeteria.

…no, I know I shouldn’t be surprised.

This is because Kou returned to his child form.

Many people repeat beastification and humanization when they first humanized.

I’m sure Kou is the same.

However, the two looked the opposite.

Kou is happy while the Captain looked disappointed.

Maybe Kou didn’t want to humanize?

…but he was happy yesterday.

What happened?

…did Captain already attack?

…that always serious Captain?

“Welcome back.”

“Kou, small, become.” (Kou became small.)

As expected, there’s no sense of discrepancy from his way of speaking in this form.

“Human, hate?” (Do you hate humanizing?)

“Hate, wrong…but, Ryodo, together, sleep, can’t, hate, think. Wake up, when, Kou, small, become, did.” (I don’t hate it…but I think Rodo didn’t like it. When I woke up, I was already small.)

“…”

Somehow, Captain had an indescribable face.

In other words, he became smaller again because he wanted to sleep together.

I don’t have to think about why Captain didn’t want to sleep together, and how complicated must he feel right now.

Captain would have wanted Kou to humanize as soon as possible.

And as soon as this mission was over, he would have wanted to get ready for the marriage.

…looks like he’d have to endure it for the time being, right?

By that time, are you planning to humanize again?

“Sleep alone, don’t like?”

He hated being treated like a child but I think he has many childish moments.

He’d only lived for 18 years, so he’s still a child.

“…Kou, front, hug, hate. But, Ryodo, only, no problem. Ryodo, place, relief, can.” (I don’t like being approached by others. But I’m okay if it’s Rodo. I can only feel relieved with Rodo.)

I thought he wasn’t aware that he’s a mate, but it seems like Captain is special for Kou.

…maybe he just thinks of Captain as his guardian rather than a mate.

“…hate hugs?”

Seems like Captain’s happy to be told that Kou felt relieved being by his side, but he also looked tangled.

“Kou, younger brother, said. Five, younger. Parents, younger brother, happy, older brother, hug, can’t. Always, hug, can, no, was. Familiar, no, hug, hate.” (I have a younger brother that’s five years younger. When my parents had him, they happily hugged him and didn’t hug me anymore. I became unfamiliar with it so I hated it.)

“Younger brother!? Did Kou have a younger brother?”

That’s new information.

Maybe even for the Captain since he looked surprised.

The fact that he hadn’t been hugged since his younger brother, who’s five years younger, was born….meant that for 13 years, he’d never been hugged.

If so, it’s no wonder he didn’t like being picked up.

But, to not be hugged at the age of five…

What were Kou’s parents thinking?

Yes, they had a newborn child, but couldn’t they take care of Kou also…?

Such a thing, Kou’s too pitiful.

What are Kou’s thoughts about it?

“Marry Captain, hate?”

“No, different.”

“Then, hate being held?”

“Renneiga!”

Captain looked panicked and interjected, but still closed his mouth. This is the only reason I can think of.

“…held?”

“Hug, different.” (Something different from a hug.)

Is it something that Kou didn’t understand?

“…”

No, he seemed to understand.

He had a confused look on his face.

As expected, does he hate it?

…Captain’s also depressed, thinking that it’s impossible.

Marriage is good, but what if he didn’t want to do that?

Is there any other person you like besides Captain?

By the way, for Captain and me, we couldn’t understand Kou’s language.

Now that Kou is studying, we can at least hold a conversation.

If Kou hadn’t done anything, we wouldn’t be able to communicate.

Even Captain didn’t understand Kou’s language.

The only word I could understand was his name, “Kou”.

And even that seemed to have a different pronunciation, and I know that he compromised.

It’s not much different from Kou’s lisping.

Everyone already knew that Kou is smart.

It’s unthinkable for us to speak another language this much in a short period of time.

As expected, we can’t understand at all when Kou uses his original language.

He’d say it once in a while, but no one knew what he said.

Does he have another person he likes?

…Captain and Kou should be mates.

Does the “I don’t hate it” or the “I don’t hate getting married” mean that he wasn’t opposed to it, but still wasn’t willing to do it?

Did he mean he didn’t hate it, but he also didn’t like it?

“…Kou, can, did, hurt, no…scary.” (I can do it, but don’t want it to hurt…it’s scary.)

In other words, he’s not disgusted with the act but it’s scary because it’s his first time.

Captain looked relieved at hearing that.

…but, does that mean don’t touch you forever?

If you don’t, it’d be your first time forever.

Or are you thinking of doing it after getting married?

────

──

There were many thoughts about Kuo’s humanization, but the mission went smoothly.

The day when Kou became Marihect’s number one magician might be near.

Not only that, but Kou can also heal.

He’s smart, stands out as a magician, and can work as a healer…

There’s be no one else with Kou’s talent.

Seems like the monsters are easily subdued under Captain’s hands.

In that case, they should act alone but the two didn’t want to leave each other.

They’re strong, but I know they’re not completely free of danger, so I can’t insist on it.

We were called to support because many monsters appeared, but I think it’s enough to just have Captain and Kou, not the entire Third Corps.

But that didn’t mean that no monsters would approach us.

Everyone worked together to subdue it, but some will still be injured.

In particular, the Sixth Corps, which has deaths as well as injured people, has low morale, and many people were injured.

Aside from scratches, some had their arm cut off.

If you lose your arm, you can no longer be a soldier.

Even if they lived, the work they can do is limited.

Understanding that, everyone would visit them.

That might be the reason why many people looked pitifully at the men who were taken to the barracks.

When it was noon and I returned to the barracks──

We were astonished and frozen in place.

Because there was a man whose arm was cut off.

──with his arms restored.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Meanwhile, Kou gracefully waved at us.

Captain was holding Kou…and glaring at the man for some reason.

Did Kou heal him?

Can he even restore a missing limb!?

And why is Captain glaring at the man?

What did he do to Kou?

(Damn…! What should I ask first…)

I have a lot to ask.

But for the time being…

“Did Kou heal him?”

No other healer can restore a missing arm.

“Injury, disappear, did.” (I made his injury disappear.)

He briefly said, but what did he mean by disappear?

And while I’m talking to Kou, I’m also worried about Captain glaring at the man who should have lost his arm.

The man was frightened by Captain’s glare, but Kou didn’t care.

…what happened?

If Kou didn’t care, what is Captain worrying about…?

What did this man do to Kou?

Will he answer if I ask?

─Renneiga’s side end─

Translator’s Notes:

This dude is playing word games with me, and I hate it. He kept rephrasing his sentences to explain what Kou’s saying, but I kept running into the same thing. Basically, he’s been saying the same thing but using different words to express a different meaning, and…whatever, I give up. Welcome to the complexities of the Japanese language.

On another note, I removed the lisping on Kou’s words. It’s hard enough to understand the raws, I’m just torturing myself if I still reflect the lisping. I think this way is better. What do you think?