Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

After the beautiful and bespectacled school physician patched me up, I’m finally able to walk. Moreover, the super sticky, for-some-reason-unwilling-to-let-me-down Alfred finally releases me—

As if.

Both the worried trio of bullies and Alfred trail after me like ducklings after their mother until I reach my room. I have to keep persuading them to go back to their own room. That I’m perfectly fine. In the end, the trio reluctantly leave. But Alfred is still as stubborn as a bull.

After pulling a chair beside my bed, he sits down.

Lying on the mattress, I sigh.

“…Look, Alfred. My injuries are already healed. I’m fine. You’re also tired from today, right? That’s why, quickly go back to your room and sleep.”

“…If your wounds hurt during the night, wouldn’t you be troubled?”

Well, it’s obvious that my injuries aren’t a hundred percent healed.

In my opinion, light injuries don’t really require specialized medical treatment. But since I’m not an expert on this topic, I had the doctor check me out just in case. They told me I had no internal injuries. There shouldn’t be any problem, since the doctor was the one who said this, right?

I study Alfred’s appearance. For some reason, he looks different from usual. Or maybe it’s just my imagination?

Why do you, the one who saved me, look so sad?

His face is tilted toward the floor. His eyes, half hidden by golden locks, seem somewhat deep. Somewhat dark.

“Alfred, you—”

“…Blood… You were bleeding so much… What if I come back to fetch you in the morning and your body is ice cold…?”

Oi.

Why is this bastard saying such ominous things?

What will you do if they come true?! You shouldn’t say those kinds of things out loud, you know. Grandpa used to remind me of this over and over. Both good and bad words have their own power, so I shouldn’t run my mouth carelessly.

To dispel the ominous prediction, I rise a bit from my bed and smack Alfred’s head with all my strength.

“Stupid!! Don’t say such unlucky things!”

Even though I hit him, Alfred doesn’t budge an inch, face still lowered.

“…Telling me…”

“What?” I hear him muttering with low voice.

“…Telling me to go first. To leave them behind. Everyone who has ever told me that died… Mom too… You said the same thing she had said back then…”

So I could have died for ordering you to leave me, huh?

Fed up with such flawed logic, I take a deep breath.

“I won’t die. Didn’t you come and save me? That’s why I’m still alive, right?”

But Alfred still does not raise his head.

“…Alfred?”

At the sound of my voice, he finally looks up. But when I peer into his eyes, I find that they are a dark shade of indigo.

They’re out of focus, looking toward me, but not actually seeing me.

Shadows cloud brilliant blue, tainting them even darker.

I feel distressed from the bottom of my heart.

I feel uncomfortable sending him away like this. Judging by his current gloomy state, I doubt he’ll recover even with a full night’s rest.

“…Err. Uh huh. Then I will say my thanks, Alfred. Thank you for saving me. It’s because you came to look for me that I’m alive.”

Alfred does not respond.

“Ah, to beat up that many demons, aren’t you pretty awesome?”

Still no response.

Even after I thanked and praised him, he still cuts a sad figure. There’s also no indication that he’ll respond anytime soon.

This is troubling. What should I do in this situation?

“…T-That’s right. Do you want to drink something? I have some fruit juice on me. I can give you a bottle if you want.”

Alfred shakes his head.

When I ask if he’s hungry, he also shakes his head without uttering a word.

Uneasiness and distress growing within me, I want to raise my head toward the skies. And then beg heaven for some answers.

“…W-Well… If you want to stay, then stay. It doesn’t really matter…”

It can’t be helped that I feel uneasy with him sitting beside me like this, staring straight at me expressionlessly. It’s scary.

To have Alfred leave my room in his current state worries me. But I also think it’ll do him good to rest. He fought off a huge pack of demon dogs and scaled the cliff while carrying me. He must be exhausted to the bone.

So I’m going to use my last resort… I’ll compromise with him.

“…Can you stop sitting there like a block of wood? And if you keep staring at me like that, I won’t be able to go to bed. So…”

I shuffle closer to the wall, leaving half of the bed unoccupied. Then I tap him on the shoulder a few times.

“…Can’t you at least lie down? Since it can’t be helped, I will lend the edge of the bed to you. But only the edge! The bed is so big that I don’t mind sharing a little piece of it with you. Just ‘cause it’s the edge and all.”

Still looking my way, Alfred blinks several times. How mysterious.

And then he’s motionless again as he stares.

What more do you want?! Even though I’ve already taken into consideration your circumstances, going through so much pain to do so, you’re still unwilling to compromise?

“I-If you don’t like it then just quickly go back to your own roo—”

All of a sudden, Alfred rises from the chair.

Just when I think he’ll leave, he removes his shoes and climbs into my bed. Looks like he doesn’t have the will to return to his room. Seriously, what the heck is this? This kind of unresponsive Alfred really unsettles me.

Right after lying down, he sneezes loudly.

I sigh. It can’t be helped, so I pull the quilt over him, sharing half of it. I mean, I have no choice! It can get pretty chilly at night on the mountain! If he catches a cold, then I’ll have an even bigger headache!

Really, you can’t even take care of yourself properly. What a troublesome kid. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. If he can just realize his color himself then I won\'t have anything to worry!

He shuffles closer to me, going so far as to snuggle into my chest. His hair tickles my chin. I told him he can only have the edge of the bed, so why is this bastard sticking so close?

“…Your heart is beating.”

“Of course, you idiot! Won’t it be bad if it isn’t?!”

“Is that so?”

What you mean with “is that so?”

Do you really understand what I said?

Please get a hold of yourself, future hero. Why do you look so dejected?

Seriously. I’m begging you. I’m asking you a favor.

Please return to you normal self tomorrow.

After I make sure the quilt’s covering his shoulder properly, Alfred rushes to wrap his arms around me, his happiness apparent. It feels really warm and hard to breathe.

But he looks a bit more energetic. What a relief.

I smile bitterly. Even though he steadily grows taller and larger than me, he still acts like a kid.

Ah, that’s right.

He is still a kid. Right now, he is only fifteen years old, huh.

We met when we were twelve years old. So since then… three years had passed.

He’s already mostly grown up. Back then, he was smaller than me and severely underweight, so thin that it seemed with just one poke and he would collapse.

Now he has sturdy muscles, and won’t fall so easily anymore.

He is also mastering the sword techniques I’ve been secretly teaching him little by little.

Nowadays, during some of our spars, I’m in threat of losing. Really makes me quite fearful.

But at the same time, I feel happy when I think about this.

Please grow up quickly while still retaining your straightforward and honest personality.

Ah, I see, maybe this is it. This must be how a father feels toward his kid, huh?

While I’m immersed in these wholesome emotions, Alfred suddenly raises his face.

For some reason, he’s staring at my nape.

“What?”

“The wound. Blood is oozing out.”

No sooner after saying that, he sticks his tongue out. And he licks me.

Then he licks me again on the side of my throat.

“W-wait… What are you doing, stupid?!”

“Ow.”

I pull my hand back after smacking the top of Alfred’s head. Why the hell are you always doing shocking things so suddenly? I can’t predict when they’re coming! It’s bad for my heart!

“D-Don’t lick me! L-Listen! If you keep doing weird things, I will kick you out!”

Though I’m not sure what the hell I mean by “weird things.”

“…Got it.”

After replying to me obediently, he moves back to his original spot.

Really… I can’t be too careful with him.

Despite being just a kid, this brat occasionally does things that can be considered as sexual harassment. If intentional, then it can only get worse. If not intentional, then it’s in his nature and he does not realize it. I’m unable to figure it out. Feeling helpless, I can’t say anything.

“If you’re satisfied, go back to your own room.”

I can feel Alfred nodding near the base of my neck.

A loud sigh escapes my lips. With such a sticky child who’s even larger than me latching on to my body, I close my eyes.

Alfred’s body heat makes me feel relieved, and I easily fall into slumber.

The next day.

Waking up near the crack of dawn, I realize that Alfred’s no longer next to me.

But the bed sheet is still warm. He must have left just a while ago. Which means he slept here the whole night. Good grief.

Later in the morning, I bump into Alfred at the canteen. Upon seeing me, he brushes a hand on the back of my head. I reply with a smack to his own head and tell him not to touch me so suddenly.

His face is expressionless as usual, but it does seem like he’s reverted to his original state. I feel relieved.

＊＊＊

The outdoor training ends safely one way or another.

And the event that had my head spinning for the better part of a week has been cleared too.

With this, it seems he won’t encounter any danger for now.

And as expected, Alfred’s actions that night spread through the school like wildfire.

In those stories, Alfred’s hailed as the hero who fought against a pack of demons and saved the princess, raising his popularity even more.

…Oi. Wait a minute.

Who do they mean by “princess?”

Who are you brats talking about? Which one of you guys started this gossip? If I find you, I’ll strangle the living daylights out of you, okay?!

And with this chapter 11 is done~!! Being Alfred sure is hard~ He have to keep up with his father-zone signal to make sure Lian is conscious about him~

Anyway, I’m confused about how I should cut chapter 12 without making a lot of people angry with the cliffhanger… But I’m tempted… ( ･ิω･ิ)

Did anyone realize the new cover for NHAD? What do you think about it? (●´w`●)

Thank you for reading this part, and see you at the next update soon! またね！