Episode 2: Pajeon & Makgeolli (1)
[Today's Diary]
Date: July 4th
Weather: Heavy Rain
Young Lady's Mood: 😑
- The young lady doesn't like rainy days very much.
- Because it was the day that dog-bug crown prince bastard was caught cheating.
- She used to love running outside barefoot to play; it's truly a shame.
- I wish she could like rainy days again.
- In that sense, shall I make her pajeon next?
- Wine and pajeon...?
- Is there anywhere that doesn't sell makgeolli?
- Should I make it?
* * *
She's cute.
She was insanely cute.
'Wow, look at her stomping her feet.'
That young lady has no idea how cute she is.
To herself, she's like a cat that thinks she's extremely chic and haughty.
I should take a photo of her nibbling with that tiny mouth of hers.
'Why doesn't this world have cameras...!'
Even though all sorts of magical phenomena exist,
there's no camera when you actually need one.
It's truly an outrage.
'To think the young lady is missing out...!'
I muttered grievances against the world inside.
Afterward, until the dedicated maid arrived and the young lady got up from her seat, I watched that sight from behind a tree.
'Well, this is also part of being a bodyguard.'
The direct descendants of the ducal house always receive protection like this, even from behind.
Because you never know when they'll be attacked.
They tell you to go, but it's not like you can actually leave.
So the direct descendants might not know, but
the guards always rotate in teams of two or three.
Which meant
it was synonymous with my shift coming to an end.
Looking ahead, I opened my mouth to the slender woman standing behind me.
"Rosie."
"Yeah."
"Let me stay just a little longer—"
"No."
"Aah……."
"A bodyguard must always maintain their biorhythm in peak condition."
"But whhyy…."
Heartbroken at being replaced, I stumbled away from that spot.
And then.
It was time to start the hunt.
"Kkeu-eung-cha!"
"Hella Capital, 7th Street, third alley."
"Okay."
Ta-at-
I put power into my toes and launched my body.
With each step, the scenery changed in a flash.
My hair fluttered in the warm night air brushing past my forehead.
"It's been a while since I've done this."
In the future, no one with foolish thoughts even dared to come near.
'Do I have to tear them all apart this time too?'
Back then, I alone was enough as a guard.
Because I barely needed to sleep.
'But I'm still lacking in skill, so I'll have to endure a bit.'
Still, after a little more time passes, the position of the young lady's guard will be mine alone.
"Euheuheu."
Giggling and kicking my legs for a few minutes,
I arrived at the capital square, about 20km from the mansion.
Seeing the gallows placed in the center brought back bad memories and made my stomach churn.
"Fuck."
I need to finish quickly and get some young lady therapy.
Mental contamination, stop!
Mentally battered like that, I searched for the alley for a moment.
"7th… 7th Street, third… Ah, here it is!"
I found the alley and entered it.
And after a while.
"Hmm… There are more than I thought?"
Assassins wearing cliché masks started popping out from everywhere.
Front, back, and even the rooftops.
They revealed themselves from truly everywhere, without a single spot left out.
"You're welcoming me like this, so I don't know what to do with myself?"
"......."
"You hound bastards, when a person speaks, shouldn't you respond?"
"......."
"Woof woof woof! Grrrr, bow wow, woof!"
"......."
"Tch, forget it."
Maybe because they're dogs who only listen to their retard of a master,
they don't seem to understand normal people's words.
I clicked my tongue briefly, then raised my sword and slammed it down right at my feet.
Squelch-
Along with the sound of flesh being pierced beyond the ground, a short death rattle rang out.
Gurk-
Over the ground, a reddish color spread slowly, as if water had been mixed into crimson liquid.
"What are you doing. Come at me."
"...Volley fire."
"...?"
What?
Volley fire?
Piiing-
Without even time to express doubt,
arrows flew simultaneously from somewhere.
Sharp arrowheads were aimed at me from everywhere—the sky, the front, the back of my head—without exception.
"Bullshit."
I continuously dodged the trajectories by a paper-thin margin, reeling my legs back.
Now and then, wounds formed on my arms from being grazed.
And then.
At the end of continued evasion, I finally reached an assassin at close quarters and immediately grabbed him to use as a shield.
Soon, arrowheads plunged into one person from all directions like a hedgehog.
Thudthudthud-!
"Kkeuk!"
A short groan rang out.
At that, the one who seemed to be the squad leader raised his fist and gave a hand signal.
"......."
"Whew~ That was close. What do you mean assassins using bows?"
Thud-
One of their comrades died.
They probably didn't feel much,
but thinking that could be their future too, they didn't seem to be in a good mood.
None of them had relaxed brows.
"As expected, meat shields are the best, aren't they? You guys think so too, right?"
"...Kill hi—"
Ta-at-
Before he could finish his words,
I kicked off and reached him.
"If you couldn't kill me the first time—"
Squelch-
"Kkeoheok…!"
"—there is no second time."
Shwick-!
A fountain of blood burst before my eyes.
Blood droplets splattered, staining my clothes and cheeks bit by bit.
'Ah, I don't want the young lady to see me like this.'
I'll have to wash and dry thoroughly.
To remove the blood smell—
"Three days should do it, I guess."
"?"
"Ah, I'm not talking about you guys. You're all going to die today anyway, do you think you'll see tomorrow?"
"...!"
The trajectories of the flying arrows were now familiar to my eyes.
Ting-!
I struck down an arrow with my sword and charged toward where it was fired.
Shhk-
...
After a very short time, about the length of a meal,
that place was gradually enveloped more by the sound of flesh being cut
than the sound of arrows flying.
Shwick-
"Hmm…."
Soon, a low nasal hum covered the deep night, and silence fell.
Looking around, no more signs of people could be felt.
I opened my mouth toward the empty air.
"Corpse disposal team? Come out and clean this up, please."
Then I turned right around and kicked off.
From behind, sounds of something being devoured greedily could be heard,
but that much,
I was used to.
"Shall we head back~"
Excited like an office worker clocking out, I sprinted toward the mansion.
Returning home faster than when I went to the capital, I went straight to the guard captain.
Knock knock-
A servant's room not far from the young lady's room.
A room from which one could go out anytime the young lady called,
truly the prime spot from my perspective.
From beyond that room, a woman's voice flowed out.
"Come in."
Squeak-
Inside, a woman in her early 30s was wiping a sword while wearing a maid uniform.
'Ah, cognitive dissonance is hitting me.'
I still can't believe the captain is the young lady's dedicated maid.
When I first came in as a guard in my previous life,
when I saw the captain beside the young lady, I nearly bit my tongue off.
The reason there are no gaps in the young lady's protection is entirely thanks to that maid,
Mary.
'Wow, look at those cloths. Brutal.'
The black cloths piled like a mountain behind her.
Seeing the different colors here and there,
several animals must have already been slaughtered.
I smiled widely pretending I hadn't seen anything and crept in.
"I'm hereeee."
"You fought quite loudly."
"Haha."
"The numbers."
"Roughly around thirty?"
"Many."
"There were many~"
"Prisoners?"
"You know too, Captain. Those guys don't open their mouths anyway."
"Well, I didn't expect any."
After light greetings, the atmosphere became a bit heavier at the following words.
Mary threw the cloth she was using to wipe the sword onto the mountain of cloths.
And she snapped her fingers once.
Snap-
At the same time, a shadow formed on the floor and swallowed the huge mountain of cloths whole.
Even the bloody smell lingering in the room subsided.
In that empty space, a faint ink smell hovered.
'I'm really jealous of that.'
It takes someone three days to remove the blood smell.
"Can't you teach me that too?"
"Do your job well, sword brat."
"Tch."
She wasn't entirely wrong.
I was jealous because it looked convenient,
not because it was essential for combat.
But thinking about what I was about to say, I slightly wondered if it might be essential.
"Captain."
"Yeah."
"Give me about 3 days off."
"Reason?"
"Removing the bloody smell? I don't want the young lady to find out."
At those words, Mary seemed to ponder, shifting her gaze slightly to the side.
"Hmm. It's late, so go on for now."
"...You heard what I said, right?"
"I said go."
"Yes ma'am."
*Sigh*, that's why she can't get married.
"What did you say."
"Nothing."
I can't even think straight.
* * *
3 days later.
A day where rain poured like a downpour, making it hard to see an inch ahead.
A young girl glared at the rain outside the window with a sullen face.
Lucrecia Netre.
She was in a very bad mood right now.
"Miss Lucy."
"What."
"Sir Rio has arrived outside."
"......."
She already knew even without being told.
Because he had knocked and announced her name outside the door earlier.
'I don't even want to see his face.'
He was detestable.
The fact that he had left her alone and roamed outside for 3 days.
'Using vacation all of a sudden?'
She didn't want to let him off for his impertinence.
Still, she wanted to see him because she hadn't seen him for 3 days.
Those two feelings clashed against each other, shaking Lucy's mind.
"Sigh…. Tell him to come in."
'Five minutes is plenty to make him wait.'
Hoping he had reflected a bit, Lucy turned toward the door.
Right then, Rio opened the door and came in.
His face showed no displeasure at having been left waiting outside.
Rather, a brightly smiling face that looked excited.
Seeing him excited, Lucy suddenly felt a bit displeased.
Because it felt like she was the only one who had been upset.
…
'...What am I thinking.'
She closed her eyes slightly then opened them, looking at him.
Truly as bright and innocent as a puppy.
"I have arrived, my lady!"
But it was strange.
In both his hands were things she had never seen in her life.
A strangely savory and heavy scent, along with a sweet and fragrant scent, flowed out.
Lucy swallowed her saliva without realizing.
"...What are those?"
"Haha! You're curious, right?! If you're curious, 300…"
"......."
"...I'm sorry. It's called pajeon, a dish I prepared ambitiously this time."
Rio had nearly gotten himself killed trying to make a joke to commemorate their reunion after a long time.
But fortunately, Lucy's interest turned to the other bottle he was holding.
"What's that one?"
"Hehehe. If I were to speak of this!"
"...Speak of it?"
"I made it myself!"
"...Made it?"
Bum-bum-bum-
Rio suddenly imitated a drumroll with his mouth.
In the end, Lucy's patience reached its limit.
"Mary."
"Yes, my lady."
"Kick him out."
"Understood."
"Ah, leave what he brought behind."
"Yes."
Mary, having heard Lucy's order, smiled faintly and looked at Rio.
She didn't say a word, truly just looked at him.
But to Rio, receiving her gaze, it felt like a different message was being drilled into his brain.
Get out.
Today too, Rio was being kicked out holding back tears.
But the expression on Rio's face as he turned to leave was unexpectedly bright.
'I knew this would happen, so I made another one in the kitchen in advance.'
Hehe.
It was a one-day brew, but
its potency would be more than enough even for a staff sergeant finishing his military service.
Until arriving at the kitchen,
he thought so.
"Gwaaah-"
"...My pajeon, makgeolli……."
"Gwoo- Damn good!"
Little did he know that the head chef had eaten it all.