Kays Translations

Chapter 60: Sincere Rosie and Cowardly Me

　Mr. Henry and the bobcat wrestled and rumbled and rolled around.

　They quickly separate and exchange terrifying growls. Although the bobcat is overwhelmingly inferior in physique, it doesn’t back down. The power of their voices and faces was tremendous.

　Even though I am not familiar with this kind of situation, I understood. This bobcat was not attacking the woman because it was hungry, but because it was furious at the woman.

　Henry the cat circled between the woman and the bobcat and crouched low with his back to the woman. When he made a growling sound that sounded like “Gooooooo” and threatened the bobcat, it suddenly became quiet. The anger faded from its expression. Then it started to back away little by little.

Illustration (By Mitemin)

　The bobcat seems to be wary of being attacked from behind. It slowly backed away, looking back at Henry again and again as it went deeper into the forest. The fog immediately hid the bobcat from view.

　After it was out of sight, I heard two or three distant high-pitched cries. They sounded like young litters.

　I finally came to my senses. I had to protect Mr. Henry anyway. I erased the wards I had put up and approached the woman, calling out to her.

“Don’t worry. This person, no, this black cat is ……”

　In the middle of saying that, I was bounced off an invisible wall with a pop. This, a ward.

“Wow, what a surprise.”

“Ahh! Sorry. I’ll turn it off right now!”

　The woman held up her index and middle finger in front of her mouth, mumbled something, said “I’m fine now,” and tried to stand up, but i she didn’t seem to have the strength.

“You’re injured, aren’t you? Did you get bitten by the bobcat?”

“Yes. But it’s my fault. When I ran into the wildcat, I got startled and used water magic. I should have just backed away without doing anything. I should have known that, but I didn’t.”

　Where is Mr. Henry?　When I looked for him, I found Henry, who had already finished getting dressed, slowly approached us and stood a little distance away with a thoughtful look on his face. I had Sophia turn back into a human and put on her clothes for the time being. When I returned to the woman, she looked at Mr. Henry and Sophia-chan and asked in a whisper.

“Miss, that man and this girl are beastmen, aren’t they?”

“Yes. That’s true, but, um…”

　The woman called out to Henry.

“My name is Rosie. I almost ran out of magic. If the warding had gone, I would have been attacked. Thank you so much for your help.”

“It was a close call. I’m glad I could be of help. First I need to treat your injuries. Then I’ll take you home on my horse.”

“Y-Yes. Please. Thank you.”

　Rosie isn’t scared of Henry. Thank goodness. Henry is calm and collected. Henry takes out a bandage and a container of what appears to be ointment from his pocket and offered them to me along with a water bottle.

　That’s right. According to my grandma’s knowledge, in this world, it is very rude for a man outside of the family to look at or touch a woman’s bare legs.

　I knelt down in front of Rosie and asked her to show me her injuries. There was a deep scratch on her left calf. Her body was covered in blood from the knee down. It’s no good just washing the surface of the wound. I thought to myself as I rinsed the wound with a jab of water. I should drink a potion. Kyrias had said, “The sooner you use the potion, the more effective it will be.”

“Do you have the potion now, Rosie?”

“No. ……”

“Then drink my potion. This wound is quite deep. I think it would be best to heal it from the inside.”

　I had her drink a homemade potion I had brought just in case, applied ointment, and bandaged it up.

　We put the woman and Sophia on the horse and the four of us headed to Rosie’s house. We listened to her story as we slowly walked the horse.

“I can use some magic. I don’t have much magic power. I make and sell potions in the village and make a living with my husband, He is a farmer. Even with my level of magical power, I’m still useful and appreciated by everyone.”

　Rosie says cheerfully and proudly.

“I was trying to pick some medicinal herbs in the forest today, and I ended up getting carried away. It’s the season for bobcats to give birth to their young, so I screwed up big time.”

　Henry spoke quietly.

“As you can see, I am a beastman. So I won’t tell you my name, but could you please keep what just happened a secret?”

　Rosie nodded repeatedly.

“I will never do anything to cause trouble to you, the one who helped me. I swear it in the name of my parents. Please believe me.”

“I believe you. Thank you.”

　I listen to Rosie and Henry’s exchange with mixed feelings.

　Henry had been trying his best to hide the fact that he was half-human. And yet, he showed it to this person without hesitation. It was because he prioritized the lives of Rosie and the mother Bobcat .

(Why am I hiding the fact that I can use magic?)

　Because I want to live quietly and inconspicuously. Because I don’t want to be a government wizard. Because It is enough to live with a smile on my face. Those are the only reasons I can think of. I’m so pathetic. I’m so busy protecting myself and trying to live a furtive life.

　Rosie’s house was a one-story house along the road that left the forest. Smoke was coming out of the chimney. When we arrived in front of the house, a man with brown hair, about 30 years old, the same age as Rosie, came running up to us.

 “Rosie!　What happened!”

“I provoked a bobcat that was nursing its young. These two rescued me while I was being attacked. You two, this is my husband, Max.”

　Rosie-san dismounted her horse with the help of her husband. As we turned, about to immediately leave, Rosie and her husband stopped us.

“Please come in and have some tea.”

“No, we’re going home.”

“Take care, Rosie.”

　That was all I could say, and the three of us set off on horseback. We ate our lunches, which consisted of fried Chicken sandwiched between two buns, in the shade of a tree along the way. Sophia, who was engrossed in her meal, stared at me while munching away.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“It became meow meow.”

　Sophia’s gaze shifts to Henry, who continues to eat his Tatsutaage burger while looking at the scenery as if he didn’t hear her.

“Yeah, that’s right. He become a meow meow.”

“secret?”

“Yeah.”

“Fee-chan, I can keep a secret.”

“Thank you.”

　When Henry thanks her, she responds with a cheerful “How do you do!” Henry tries to tell her it’s, “You’re welcome,” but no matter how many times she repeats it, it always ends up being “How do you do.” What an angel.

　With Sophia’s guidance, we arrived at Karin’s house. After handing Sophia-chan over, I told her, “I have something important to tell you.” karin-san’s face turned into a look of (I wonder what it is?).

“We rescued a woman from being attacked by a bobcat in the forest. This is the man who rescued her. He transformed in front of Sophia.”

“What?　What are you talking about?”

　As I hesitated, Henry took a step forward.

“I transformed into a cat and chased the bobcat away. It was a mother bobcat raising her babies, so I couldn’t bring myself to hurt it with my sword. Sophia saw the whole thing.”

“Then you, my dear, are ……. I thought I could recognize a beastman, but I didn’t notice you at all.”

“If the world finds out that I am a beastman, both I and my parents will lose a lot. I would appreciate it if you would not tell anyone about this. Also, the woman saw Sophia in her transformed form. I am sorry.”

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. We don’t know who it is or where they’re from.”

　Karin-san forgave me with a smile.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone about you. You s have said that it was just a misunderstanding on Sophia’s part, but you trusted me and told me, right? We dog-type beastmen never betray our trust. Sophia, you must not tell anyone about what you saw today. Understood?”

“I’ll keep my promise!　I can keep my promise!”

　Henry and I thanked her and left Karin’s house.

“Mr. Henry, may I ask why?”

“That I turned into a cat?　Because …… if you hurt a wild animal, it won’t be able to catch its prey. It would mean starving both mother and child to death. When I saw the bobcat’s swollen udders, it reminded me of my mother’s face. I couldn’t bring myself to use my sword when I saw that she was being aggressive to protect her child.”

I felt miserable the whole time we were heading for the “hideout”. Rosie, who proudly told us that she could use magic and how helpful she was to the villagers. Mr. Henry, who became a cat to protect Rosie and the bobcat mother and child. But I…

“What’s wrong?　You’ve been listless all day.”

“I’ve been hiding the fact that I can use magic by saying things like ‘I want to live quietly’ and ‘I just want to live with a smile’ to protect myself, haven’t I? I think I’m a petty, cowardly woman.”

“Protecting yourself is the most basic of basics. It’s not cowardly.”

　Still silent for a while, Mr. Henry began to tell me something unexpected.

“It would be cowardly to tell you later, so I’ll tell you my secret. I’ve found out who my father is. He’s a much bigger man than I imagined.”

“Was it someone you knew?”

“It was His Majesty the King.”

　I fell silent for a while, unable to understand the words that came through my ears.

“Um, that’s a good thing, right?’

“No, it’s not good news. If they find out about this, my life will be in danger. It all makes sense now why my mother gave me up for adoption and why she tried to avoid having anything to do with me. And Mai-san…”

“Hmm?”

“If my true identity were revealed, you might be targeted too. If I care about you, I think I should keep my distance.”

　Henry said that his strength is that he never gets his priorities wrong. This person may really be trying to keep his distance for my safety. If that’s the case, I should let him know my priorities too.

“Please Listen to me, I ended my time in that world over there with regret. There is no guarantee that tomorrow will be the same as today. If you keep saying things like, “When things calm down” or “When the danger disappears,” you’ll  end up regretting things in this world too. Don’t overthink it, just continue to be friends with me as you have been.”

“Mai-san……”

　On top of Iris, Henry’s left arm tightened and he hugged me tightly, and then he cupped my neck and bit me.

“Hey!　Ouch, ouch!　It’s too hard for a sweet bite!　You’ll probably leave a tooth mark by now.”

　I slapped Henry’s thigh to make him stop. When I turned around to look at his face, I saw that he was in a really good mood and his pupils were slightly vertical.

“I intentionally left teeth marks so that people would know that this person had a lover.”

“That would normally be a kiss mark. These are teeth mark!”*hickey 

　Mr. Henry remained in a good mood and did not reply.

TL Note:

Dish tatsuta-age (deep-fried chicken flavored with soy sauce and sake)

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