Chapter 113: Return Home

- Come home and explain yourself, you Bastard.

Underneath something heavily scratched like it was scribbled, there was a sentence that appeared to be a warning.

I checked the letter that was supposed to be sent by Deia, but only a single statement was written there as if it were a threat.

"What? Did you do something wrong?"

Findenai asked me with a questioning expression; she was on the seat beside me and glanced over the contents of the letter with just a slight turn of her head.

She had already crossed the line too many times, to the extent that it was useless to criticize her for casually peeking into someone else's letters.

"Hm."

To be honest, I had no idea. If I had any inkling at all, I would have roughly understood why Deia sent such a letter.

It was too mysterious to even guess. Anyway, I had planned to return to Norseweden just before the start of the semester.

"It is probably regarding some unimportant matter."

If it were really urgent, she wouldn't have sent a letter like this.

Since Deia being in a bad mood wasn't a rare occurrence, it probably wasn't a big problem. It could just be that Darius might have done something strange.

"Argh, it's itching."

"......"

Inside the rattling carriage, Findenai scowled as she kept touching the bandages wrapped around her body, looking rather uncomfortable.

She grumbled about her back itching, but she couldn't exactly remove the bandages.

After all, she was in the midst of tending to the injuries she had sustained in the recent battle with Dina.

"It's so darn itchy. Master Bastard, could you scratch my back a bit?"

Findenai suddenly thrust her back to me. In spite of the irritation evident on her face, she couldn't really ask Illuania since she was driving the carriage.

"Owen, you do it."

"Yes, understood!"

Owen, who had been quietly pressing the keys of the melodica I had bought him, approached her. However...

"Don't you dare touch me."

Findenai suddenly growled and glared at him. Startled, Owen pleaded to me for help while trembling.

"What are you doing?"

As I asked why she suddenly treated Owen like this, Findenai crossed her arms without even looking at me.

"I haven't lived comfortably enough to entrust my back to a little kid I just got to know."

"..."

"Ah, forget it. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to help me."

Findenai quickly turned away and retrieved a cigarette from her pocket, but she simply held it in her mouth, not lighting it. I didn't expect her to be so touchy about this.

"Sigh, turn around."

After gesturing for Owen to just sit down, I told Findenai, and she obediently turned her back towards me.

I helped Findenai, who couldn't use her arms to scratch her back. One of my hands held a book, while the other had reached out to Findenai's back.

Scratch.

"Scratching over my clothes will only make me feel itchier."

Findenai swiftly removed the upper part of her clothing, revealing only her back. Even though her front wasn't visible to me, it was still provocative enough.

"You are a woman... No, forget it."

What could I possibly expect from Findenai?

She was not a woman, but a beast.

Numerous scars riddled her small but white back.

Suddenly, I felt like I knew why she didn't want to show her posterior to the boy.

"To the right, to the right."

The more I moved my hand according to her instructions, the worse I felt, but I still did it anyway.

"A bit more to the right."

"...That is your armpit. You can reach it with your hand."

"Is it? I'm too lazy to move my hand."

Findenai answered indifferently and put her clothes back on. Owen, whose face had turned red, was sneakily glancing our way. This scene could be quite stimulating for a teenage boy.

Although neither Findenai nor I reacted at all...

"I-It's my first time going to Norseweden. I heard there's a lot of snow."

Perhaps because of that, Owen started a topic to hide his flushed face.

I responded with a wry smile.

"It will probably be hard to see snow around this time."

Since this summer was quite severe, surely the snow in Norseweden had melted.

However, there might still be snow on the peaks of the Norseweden mountain range because it was a place supervised by the Mountain Lord, rather than the effects of natural climate.

"I see..."

I continued talking to Owen, trying to comfort his gloomy mood.

"There is still plenty of time. As you go around with me, we will eventually be able to visit there together next winter, and then we can see things like the snow festival in Norseweden."

"A snow festival! It's also my first time experiencing such a thing!"

"Yeah, when the time comes, I will ask for a performance from you."

"Yes! I'll do my best!"

Owen clenched his fists tightly, and then focused on practicing with the melodica once again.

I felt like I was bringing a child with me, perhaps because of his small stature compared to his age.

"You're treating him quite kindly, huh?"

Findenai subtly leaned on my shoulder. Although I felt the increase in contact due to this, I simply ignored her action and replied.

"Then try to behave according to your position."

"Can you put up with it if I do so?"

I pondered her words for a moment.

What if Findenai were to act like an ordinary maid, and start taking care of me while acting cautious around my presence?

"...That sounds repulsive."

When I honestly responded to her, Findenai looked at me with a dumbfounded expression before bursting into laughter alone.

"Right? That's right! Oh, it's been a while since I laughed like this. You sometimes crack me up, Master Bastard."

Findenai laughed heartily, feeling better, and then she glanced at Owen.

"Kiddo, why don't you play something? Something lively."

"C-can I really?"

"Sure, since I'm feeling good."

Findenai, who had forbidden Owen from playing the instrument because she didn't want to hear it, had now given her permission.

The boy immediately connected the pipe to the melodica and put it to his lips.

And then, for a while, a quite cheerful melody suitable for the journey filled the air.

* * *

We arrived in Norseweden late at night. It was still lively as we crossed through downtown, perhaps due to an ongoing festival. However, because of this, the carriage was then stuck in the middle.

Owen was still too young and had never been here, Illuania was resting, and Findenai was injured.

The problem was that, through the process of elimination, I ended up holding the reins of the carriage.

The streets were lined with numerous street vendors to the point that crossing the city street was challenging.

And there was Aria Rias, who was taking a bite of Norseweden skewers.

"Huff huff!"

With puffed-up cheeks and eyes wide open, she was babbling something, but her pronunciation was off due to the food inside her mouth.

Someone might find this cute upon seeing it, but my face remained frowning.

Neeeeigh!

I pulled the reins, stopping the carriage. I heard Findenai shouting from the inside, asking if we had arrived, but I ignored her and urgently got off the carriage to approach Aria.

"Huff! P-Professor?"

Aria was suddenly flustered and hastily swallowed the food in her mouth. She seemed to sense something amiss from my expression.

"What have you been up to?"

Her instinct was right on target; I felt overwhelmed by a greatly uncomfortable sensation.

"Uh, um. Pardon? I-I've been training to get stronger. Since there are many techniques that I still can't use right now..."

"Not that. I am sure you have done something else. Your body is filled with an unusual energy."

Aria's eyes widened. Feeling embarrassed after getting caught, she awkwardly tapped the end of the skewer she was holding with her finger.

"W-well... P-Professor, I prepared a gift for you."

"A gift?"

"Y-yes! I'll give it to you later! You'll surely like it!"

After saying that, she turned her body and fled from the scene at a speed surpassing that of the carriage, proving her identity as a regressor for a reason.

If she collided with someone at this speed, that person would likely end up on a trip to the hospital due to broken bones.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Findenai asked me as she leaned out, extending the upper half of her body from the carriage window. I responded that it was nothing much. However, voices of those who recognized Findenai erupted from the vendors' area.

"Chief?"

"It's Chief! The Chief is here!"

"Wow! Long time no see, Chief!"

Members of the Scrapyard Nomads immediately rushed towards Findenai. Wondering what they were up to, it seemed they were running simple food stalls or doing errands.

"Get lost, you bastards."

Findenai also responded playfully by reaching out her hand, tousling the heads of the members.

"Chief! Please try the chicken skewers I made! I've found my calling!"

"You should try eating them with beer from my stall; it would taste even more amazing!"

"Alright, you dimwits."

Eventually, Findenai was dragged out of the carriage by the members. I intended to drive the carriage back to the mansion first since it was inconvenient for the carriage to block the street like this.

"Finally, you're here!"

A voice sharply pierced through the bustling night.

Despite being midsummer, the late-night chill in Norseweden was still harsh when compared to the other regions, so the woman was wearing a black robe with a hood.

"Deia."

Despite it not being that long since I last saw her, was the joy I felt due to familial bond?

Whenever I looked at Deia and Darius, I always felt a sense of something I longed for, but had never experienced, touching my heart.

Therefore, I had to try to suppress my slightly heightened emotions before attempting to ask where Darius was.

However, Deia was firmly biting her lip.

She crossed her arms as if holding something back before gesturing at me.

"Come here."

Her stance made her look like a teacher who was about to scold me, making me wonder why. Upon reflection, even though I didn't think much about it, the letter somewhat felt like a scolding in and of itself.

It seems like she's asking for an explanation.

Illuania, who was resting inside the carriage, instead came out and took the reins from me.

"I'll drive the carriage back to the mansion."

"Thank you for your help. Since Owen is asleep, ask for a room for him, and they will give it to you."

Findenai was already chatting and laughing with the members of the Scrapyard Nomads.

Aria was nowhere to be seen, having already fled far away.

Only Deia and I were left standing in the night market street. Before I could say anything, she approached, suddenly grabbed my sleeve, and pulled me.

"When will these damn brothers of mine stop making me worry about them?"

Irritated by Deia's grumbling about me giving her a headache, I couldn't help but rebuke her.

"Do not compare me to Darius."

No matter what, she had crossed the line.