PAHKE 32

Chapter 32

“Gasp…”

I stopped breathing for a moment and met Ardiriel’s eyes.

It was the first time I had ever seen his eyes this close.

They looked like burning red suns…

No, what am I thinking?

I quickly snapped back to my senses and tried to pull away in a hurry.

“S-sorry. I’ll get up right away—”

“Ugh…”

I froze at the faint groan Ardiriel let out in panic.

“Sir Knight?”

I slowly lifted my gaze.

Ardiriel had turned his face away, covering it with a hand, his face completely red.

“Uh… are you hurt?”

“Lady.”

He clenched his teeth and forced the words out with difficulty.

“Please… stay still…”

Stay still? What did I even do?

I naturally followed his gaze downward.

“Ah, no… why is this—”

And I saw it.

My knee was pressing firmly against Ardiriel’s abdomen.

Oh heavens.

I quickly rolled to the side, and as if he had been waiting for it, he raised his upper body and curled slightly.

An awkward silence settled between us.

“Boss, are you not inside?”

At that moment, like a lifeline from the sky, Daniel’s voice came from outside.

I awkwardly spoke up.

“Uh… then I’ll be going now…”

I muttered a quick excuse and rushed out, closing the door in a hurry.

Through the closing gap of the door, I could still see Ardiriel curled up.

I must have pressed him pretty hard with my knee. He must be in a lot of pain, right? Maybe even bruised?

… I should apologize later. What else can I do?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts while putting on my robe.

When I opened the front door wearing my silver mask, I saw Daniel’s large figure standing there.

“You were inside. Good.”

“Oh, yes… but what brings you here? I thought future consultations were supposed to be at the client’s house.”

“He is ill.”

I widened my eyes in surprise.

“Who? Charles? Is he hurt? No, wait, if the kid is sick you should take him to a doctor, not come here…”

Then a sound came from Daniel’s arms.

“Meow—!”

At the same time, Daniel carefully pulled something out from his arms.

“Thanks to the advice you gave me, I was able to get somewhat closer to Charles. At least now he doesn’t bite.”

I stared at the clear scratch marks on Daniel’s arm.

Is the one who’s hurt actually Daniel, not Charles?

“That’s why I came here. I couldn’t find anyone who understands cats as well as you do, Boss.”

Good thing I watched a lot of animal videos in my past life.

I hid my embarrassment at the sudden praise and asked.

“So what exactly is wrong with Charles?”

“Could you take a look at this?”

Daniel pulled out a small bag with one hand while holding Charles with the other.

“Charles… expelled something from his mouth. Forgive my wording, but I don’t have a better one.”

Inside the transparent bag was…

“Charles… defecated through his mouth.”

“……”

I stared silently at the bag.

Well, it was brown and mixed with saliva, so I could see why he thought that.

“No matter how little I know about cats, I don’t think defecating through the mouth is normal.”

“That is not feces.”

Daniel looked confused.

“Then what is it that Charles vomited?”

Right… how do I explain “hairball” here?

After thinking for a moment, I spoke calmly.

“Basically… cats lick their fur using the tiny barbs on their tongue. Sometimes, the hair they swallow can’t be digested, so they throw it back up.”

Daniel lifted the bag and examined it closely.

“You mean… this is fur?”

I nodded.

Daniel’s eyes widened in shock.

That Evening

After visiting Daniel’s house and giving various advice, I returned completely exhausted.

So that cat really was sulking.

I learned something today—apparently Daniel had once stepped on Charles’s tail.

With that huge body, he stepped on such a fragile tail…

Now that I think about it, yeah. That must be why. Otherwise, a normally affectionate cat wouldn’t suddenly change like that.

“Keek. Boss, you made a lot of money today?”

“Yeah, I guess… Wit, you were guarding the house properly, right?”

“Wit was monitoring Ardiriel well! Good job, right? Right, Boss?”

“Yeah, good job.”

I asked Wit, who was flying in front of me, to bring water, and he happily flew into the kitchen.

By the way, where was Ardiriel?

“I’m late.”

Ah, what the—

Speak of the devil.

His voice came from right behind me, and my heart nearly dropped.

“Ah! You startled me. Why do you always appear so silently?”

I glared at him, and Ardiriel blinked in confusion.

And what? Late?

I let out an incredulous laugh.

“And what is this about not being able to eat alone… I heard from your commander that you eat just fine on your own at the temple.”

“……”

Oh? There it is again. He always looks away when he’s at a disadvantage.

“Why do you tell such obvious lies? Honestly.”

Ardiriel ignored my sharp stare and changed the topic.

“Are you hungry? I prepared food in advance before you arrived, so please eat first.”

He naturally guided me toward the dining table.

Now that I think about it, the house did smell good as soon as I entered.

Seeing neatly arranged dishes made my appetite come back.

After washing my hands and returning, I saw Wit already sitting at the table.

I sat down, ready to eat—

“…?”

Why is that man still standing?

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

“…May I sit?”

“Huh?”

Since when did I ever stop him from sitting?

I looked at him in disbelief, and Ardiriel awkwardly scratched the back of his neck before sitting across from me.

I really can’t understand him.

While I was staring at him, Wit called me.

“Boss, how was today’s job? Kikik. Still don’t need Wit’s help?”

“Huh? Oh, well…”

Today actually went pretty well.

Thanks to my advice, Daniel ignored Charles.

Then Charles started staring at Daniel… and even came closer to eat snacks placed near him.

“…!”

Daniel’s frozen expression while panicking without moving a muscle was hilarious.

I had always thought he was scary because of his appearance, but I realized again he was actually very soft inside.

Thinking about it made me smile.

“I think the captain of the Holy Knight Order is a good person.”

At my words, Ardiriel looked at me quietly.

“The captain treats everyone equally regardless of status.”

“Yes, he seems like it.”

“He gave me a chance to join the order when I was wandering outside. Without him, I wouldn’t even be able to live like a normal person.”

In other words, Daniel was the person who extended a helping hand to Ardiriel when he was at his lowest point.

Hearing that, I understood his strong loyalty.

“It’s my first time meeting him, but I think I understand what you mean.”

Well, and they say people who like cats usually aren’t bad people anyway.

I muttered absentmindedly.

“Yes, he really is a good person. Just a bit unusual.”

As I smiled recalling today’s events—

“Unusual…”

Ardiriel repeated quietly.

Wit suddenly called out urgently.

“Boss! Boss!”

“Huh? You called me?”

I tilted my head, and Wit spoke excitedly as if he just remembered something.

“Boss, what are you going to do about the flyers you scattered at Vincent Academy?”

“Oh, that.”

Right, I had forgotten about that.

Even if Daniel coming was unavoidable, I didn’t want other Holy Knights showing up.

Well, as long as they didn’t find out about Ardiriel, it would be fine… but I didn’t want even the possibility.

“I’ll retrieve them as quickly as possible. I probably can’t collect everything since I spread them everywhere, so just gather what you can.”

“Don’t worry, Boss! Wit remembers everywhere the flyers were placed! Kik!”

“You remember all of that?”

“Yes!”

At Wit’s confident reply, I patted his back proudly.

What a useful little guy.

Just then, while I was eating with a fork—

“…?”

What now. What is the problem? Just say it already.

Ardiriel was still staring at me with sad, longing eyes.

I got tired of even asking anymore.

“Eat your meat. You need protein.”

I pretended not to notice and placed a piece of meat onto his plate.

The Next Day

“You’re going to meet the captain?”

While I was getting ready to go out leisurely, I nodded at Ardiriel’s question.

“Yes. I have to. We agreed to meet again today.”

How many days has it been now?

I counted on my fingers.

Maybe… about a week?

At this rate, the request would be finished within three days.

That would make this my fastest completed mission ever.

I hope all future requests are like this.

Humming, I put on my robe when Ardiriel muttered to himself.

“…Isn’t it unusually long?”