Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 105: Late-Night Noises
I was woken up by a noise downstairs.
I didn’t give Henry a key. There was no way Sandor and Albert would be here in the middle of the night. I must have slept with the wards up in the first place. But the barrier that was supposed to surround the house were gone.
(Huh? weren’t the wards always there when I woke up in the morning?)
I created a barrier around myself and used my earrings to whisper to Victor.
“Sorry to bother you so late at night. There is someone in my store. They will be coming upstairs soon, so I will protect myself with magic, but if it is a stranger who has entered, could you please come?”
Mr. Victor replied, “No, I’m on my way.”
As I listened carefully, I heard low voices whispering and discussing downstairs. The creaking of the stairs was getting closer. I stood on the far end of the bed, my right hand in front of me, and waited.
As I braced myself, the door swooshed open. Someone entered the bedroom. The footsteps stopped, as if they were waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Then came footsteps rushing toward me.
But the intruder was bounced back by the barrier. There was a thud as two people fell and a groan. There was also the sound of something hard hitting the floor.
Before they could get up, I cast a transformation spell, reducing their clothes to a single piece of cloth, just like the robbers from sometime ago.
Thud again! Slam! I heard the sound of them falling down.
I lit my lamp and looked down at the two men as I approached them, still with my ward in place.
Two men in their thirties were struggling, their faces contorted. Both men were portly and well built.
“You’ve got some nerve breaking into a wizard’s house. Ahh, or just plain stupid.”
“Damn it! You bitch!”
I pick up a long-handled broomstick hooked to the wall and stand in front of the men.
There was a silvery, shining metal ring at their feet. I wonder what it is. It looks like a small hula hoop.
It might be a weapon, so I kicked it away from the men for now. The hoop slid under the bed and disappeared from sight.
“You guys haven’t seen me use magic, have you? If you saw what I did at the fire, you wouldn’t have thought of attacking me. I think you just heard that a female wizard was living alone above the ‘Hideaway’.”
The men don’t answer.
“Watch closely, you’ll see what I can do.”
Saying that, I cast a transformation spell on the broom.
In the light of the lamp, the broom I held in my hand slowly turned to powder, starting from the tip. The two men watched in silence. The powder from the broom’s disintegration piled up on the floor, forming a mountain. When the last of the broom handle had turned to powder, I crouched down near the men. The fear in their eyes as they looked at me was clear.
“I’m going to try the same thing with your bodies. I wonder if it hurts having your body turn into powder. Or will you feel no pain. It’s my first time, so I don’t know. Let’s try it starting from your toes, so let me know what you think.”
The two of them began to struggle aggressively.
“Don’t!”
“Please, forgive me! I’ll never do this again!”
“And you would’ve stopped if I asked you to? Don’t be ridiculous. Then you can keep your shoes on. Let’s get started,”
I raised my hands towards the men’s feet. I’m not really going to do it, but I’m going to scare them to the core.
Just as the men screamed, “Stop it!”, I heard a “bang” from below. Then came the sound of someone running up the stairs. Mr. Victor came rushing in through the open door. He seemed to graspe the situation at a glance.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine. Sorry to trouble you so late at night.”
“Karin has run to the Guard, so my people will be here soon.”
Even at this point, the two men are still struggling to free themselves from their restraints.
Outside, the sound of horses approached.
Victor opened the curtains and waved his hand widely out the window. A total of eight strong men trickle into the bedroom. I took a step forward.
“They broke in, so I used magic to restrain them. Do you want me to undo the spell?”
“No. We’ll carry them away.”
The guards quickly carried them both away.
Mr. Victor said, “Then, please contact the security guards tomorrow and explain what happened . Please make sure to lock the door properly tonight,” and left.
I then went down to the store to let Henry know what had happened. I knew he would be upset if I didn’t tell him until tomorrow.
The lock on the kitchen door had been broken. It was a simple lock, so I guess I was lucky that it had remained intact until now. I’ll make about three extra locks and install them tomorrow.
Mr. Henry came riding up on his horse right away. He looked very flustered, his hair was shaggy and his shirt all buttoned up wrong.
Henry hugged me, “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so glad,” he kept repeating. His heart was beating frighteningly fast.
“I was afraid that something might happen to you ……, it’s all I could think about.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you. I really scared the thieves as much as I could.”
“in the future, when you use magic out in the open like that, you should still hide your face.”
“I know there is no country with only good people. But I don’t want to hide anymore.”
“Why not?”
Henry yelled for the first time.
“There is something I haven’t told you, Henry. why I don’t want to hide. Will you listen to me?”
“Wait. I need to cool my down for a bit. Sorry for yelling.”
“I’ll make you a cup of tea. Shall we drink tea with a drop of strong liquor?”
The two of us sat across from each other and drank our tea laced with distilled spirits.
Insert (By Mitemin)
“I’ve calmed down. Go ahead. What is it you haven’t told me?”
“The first one is about the guards. One time, I think sometime after I provided the potion to the castle, when some strong men were standing near the shop at night. I questioned them about why they were standing there.”
“ What did they say ……?”
“They said they were guarding me by order of His Majesty. They were standing there all night for me. I felt so sorry for them, standing there in the rain and getting wet, that I couldn’t sleep. I asked if they could at least stay inside the shop, but they refused. So I also refused the escort, saying, ‘I won’t be able to sleep. ‘I’ll repel them with magic, so there’s no need to worry.’”
Henry closed his eyes and sighed.
“The second reason is that I feel very guilty towards the many people who had the same illness as me, underwent the same arduous treatment, and passed away when they ran out of strength. When I was hospitalized, I made friends with a young woman who had the same illness as me, but she died before me.”
Tears welled up and trickled down my cheeks as I inadvertently remembered her empty bed.
“No one is to blame, and I’m grateful to my Grandma. But, since coming to this world, I’ve been dreaming a lot. At first, I had dreams about dying, but then they changed into something different. I dreamt that I was standing on the street and many people were passing me on foot. As they passed me, many of them would silently glance at me.”
It’s hard to put into words how I felt when I had that dream.
“Those people were probably people who died of the same disease as me. Whenever I have that dream, I feel so sorry and guilty…it’s like my heart is being crushed.”
“Mai, you are so serious. I’m sure your guilt is what’s making you dream like that. You see, Mai, in this country, it’s said that for every three children born, one will die before they reach the age of ten. Even after turning ten and becoming an adult, you can’t let your guard down. Epidemics, childbirth, injuries. Young people die for all sorts of reasons. Those who work in the castle are no exception.”
Henry said, his eyes a little distant.
“Living is a precious thing in itself. Live no matter what. Move on. That, I believe is the mission of those who are lucky enough to survive.”
“I understand that. I know that, it’s why I couldn’t say it until now. But what if I prioritized my own safety and hid my identity, and someone died because of it? I didn’t have the luxury of hiding my face during the fire. I still can’t forget the sight of Karin lying on the ground, covered in blood.”
The reason I want to help people isn’t just because I want to make someone smile. If I’m not useful, I can’t bear it.
“I have to be useful to someone. If I’m not, I won’t be able to face the people who passed me by. I just can’t bring myself to think, ‘I’m glad I’m the only one who survived.'”
Every healthy person thinks he or she will live until they become old. So did I. So when I found out that I was going to die soon, the frustration, emptiness, and regret I felt was so great that I couldn’t think about anything else.
I was also angry, thinking, (I’m only 25 years old.)
From the time I found out about my illness until I finally gave up and accepted it, my heart was in turmoil. People who had experienced the same turmoil have since passed away, but I am still alive and well.
No matter how many words I try, I don’t feel like I can properly convey how I feel now.
Tears trickled down my cheeks one after another and fell from my chin onto the floor. I wish I could talk about this without crying.
When I fell silent, Henry sat down next to me and gently put his arm around my shoulders.
We both sat there not saying anything for a while, then Henry pulled me to my feet and we went upstairs. I assumed he meant I should go to bed, so I obediently let him take me by the hand and pull me upstairs too.
Henry puts me to bed, covers me with a blanket, then wipes the tears from my face with a handkerchief.
“I know your emotions will be running high tonight so I’ll hold your hand until you fall asleep.”
Saying this, he sat on the bed and held my hand. I took deep breaths and somehow managed to hold back my tears. Eventually, my breathing calmed down and I remembered something important.
“There’s something I’d like you to see.”
I got off the bed and knelt on the floor . I stretched out my arm and pulled the metal ring out from under the bed that I had kicked away with my foot.
“What is this? Those men had it.”
“…I think it’s a magical tool that seals magical powers. I’ve seen it in the archives. The thieves were carrying this? I am so glad that you noticed them break in. I’ll take this to the magic department tomorrow …… No, better yet, I’ll take it to Mr. Glidden. If I take it to the Magic Department, they’ll probably just keep it there.”
Henry placed the silver ring under the couch and said, “I’ll take care of this,” then he laid me back on the bed and sat himself down next to me.
“I’ll be holding your hand the whole time. Now, close your eyes.”
He said as he stroked my head.