Chapter 393 - Chapter Three: The Days of the Two
After finishing the meal and after Matilda had returned the tableware to the main building, preparations for bathing were made.
Using a built-in magic tool to create warm water in the bathtub, into which Matilda had transferred water from the well built beside the detached house during the day, Noein soaked alone in the bath Matilda had prepared.
"..."
Thinking about something while bathing, Noein voiced the sudden idea upon getting out of the bath.
"Matilda, you should take a bath too."
"!? ...? ...??"
Then, Matilda looked at Noein with eyes as if she were seeing some kind of rare beast.
"But... I am a beastman slave. To soak in warm water..."
"But you're a little dirty. I don't want you to stay in that state."
She likely wasn't allowed to bathe with water every day. Since it was a season where one didn't sweat much, her clothes weren't dirty yet, but Matilda's hair and face were sticky, and her hands were soiled with earth.
"...I understand. Then, I shall go rinse myself with warm water."
Recognizing Noein's words as an order meaning "do not walk inside the room with a dirty body," Matilda said so and headed toward the bathroom.
"Not just rinsing, you can soak in the bathtub too. Oh, and wipe your body with this."
Handed the small towel that Noein had not used after his bath, Matilda gripped the thick, sturdy fabric and her eyes became vacant.
"............I understand."
Seeming exhausted by receiving one unconventional treatment after another, Matilda answered with vacant eyes and entered the bathroom.
He had said that, but would she actually soak in the water? While Noein was worrying slightly,
"...Haaah."
Along with the sound of water as someone soaked, such a sigh was heard. For her, a beastman slave, this was perhaps the first proper bath of her life. It must have felt incredibly good. Noein laughed softly.
After a while, having finished a bath longer than Noein's, Matilda emerged from the bathroom. Her body and hair were refreshed, and her hands were clean. It couldn't be helped that her clothes remained the same for now.
Her face was flushed from being warmed by the water, but for some reason, her expression was dark.
"I am terribly sorry. For a slave to take such a long bath on my own... please, grant me a punishment."
Apparently, because it felt so good, she had accidentally stayed in the bath too long. Thinking she was actually cute in her depressed state, Noein approached the prostrating Matilda.
Perhaps because the small towel couldn't wipe it all away, water droplets were still dripping from her long black hair. There, Noein placed a large towel over her. It was the one he had used to wipe his own body, but it couldn't be helped.
Thinking some violence was about to be inflicted, Matilda flinched for a moment. However, as Noein proceeded to vigorously rub her hair dry with his small hands, Matilda raised her face, a hint of doubt bleeding into her vacant eyes.
"...Um,"
"Listen, Matilda, as I said before, I'm different from those other mean people. If you want to soak slowly in the bath, you may do so. If there's something else you want to do, you can tell me. I won't hit you, and I won't bully you. I'm going to cherish you."
Whether she couldn't understand the meaning of what Noein was saying, or whether she doubted it, Matilda remained silent with a complex expression as her hair was wiped.
She must have soaked slowly and washed thoroughly. Her hair and face were no longer sticky. However, there was no scent of soap. Noein thought that from tomorrow, he would have to tell her "you may use soap too."
After that, it was time to go to sleep. Here too, Noein attempted to cherish Matilda.
"Here, Matilda, come here."
Saying so, Noein huddled to one side of the bed and patted the empty space to indicate it.
In a storybook he had read a while ago, the protagonist treated a large dog as a member of the family, sharing their eating and sleeping. Noein had been interested in the description of letting the dog onto the bed and falling asleep using its warm body as a hugging pillow.
With Matilda here, he could put that into practice. Noein called Matilda with an innocent expression full of curiosity.
"...Yes, Noein-sama."
Nodding obediently, Matilda lay down in the empty space of the bed indicated by Noein. That voice and expression, inorganic as if she were a doll, represented her inner self, which had given up on a reality where only incomprehensible things continued to happen.
The sun had already set, and the moonlight of the full moon pouring through the window softly illuminated the room. When the curtains attached to the window were closed, that light was blocked, and the room became a darkness suitable for sleeping.
"Matilda, I'll keep cherishing you from now on."
Noein said this while hugging her and gently stroking her head.
"I'll let you eat delicious things, let you wear clean clothes, and let you take a bath every day..."
There, Noein's words cut off, changing into peaceful, rhythmic breathing.
Matilda looked at Noein's face. Noein, who until a moment ago had seemed like some kind of unknowable, eerie creature, now looked like just a boy. It was the face of a boy who was terribly powerless, very tired, and somehow lonely.
"..."
Matilda, who felt a strange emotion upon seeing that face, also fell asleep before she knew it.
.....
From the next day, the life of just the two of them, Noein and Matilda, began in earnest.
"Noein-sama, I have brought your meal."
"Thank you, Matilda. Come, shall we eat together?"
Together with Matilda, who had carried the tray with breakfast from the main building, Noein gathered around the table. Noein sat on the bed, and Matilda sat in a chair.
"How is it, Matilda? Is it delicious?"
"...Yes, it is very delicious, Noein-sama."
As she said this, what Matilda was stuffing into her cheeks was the same menu as Noein's breakfast.
The first thing Noein did after starting life in this detached house was to improve the content of Matilda's meals. Using the bundle of paper and pen placed in the detached house as initial equipment, Noein wrote a request to his father and had Matilda deliver it.
The response to Noein's request for "Matilda to have the same meal content as myself" was, "Then, as the price, I shall deduct one thousand Rebro from your allowance every month." Noein wrote back that he accepted this and returned it along with one large silver coin, and from the following day, high-quality meals began to be given to Matilda as well.
Taking one thousand Rebro a month for slightly superior meals was nothing short of a rip-off, but Noein did not mind.
Matilda still seemed to harbor confusion regarding her treatment, but at least during this time when she put food in her mouth, her expression softened, and a hint of joy was included in her voice. Seeing her like that, Noein was satisfied.
After finishing breakfast, Noein went out to the backyard.
The backyard, which was merely an empty plot of land enclosed by a wooden fence, nevertheless gave Noein a refreshing sense of openness compared to the narrow interior of the detached house. Breathing the fresh air, looking up at the blue sky partitioned into a square, and bathing in the sunlight, he could feel that a new day had begun.
"Ah, Matilda, look. It's a ladybug."
Noein, who had been walking around the backyard without purpose, called Matilda upon seeing a small red insect perched on the wooden fence.
"..."
The called Matilda went to Noein's side, and she too crouched down beside Noein, who had sat on the ground, to gaze at the ladybug.
"It's small and cute, isn't it?"
"Yes, Noein-sama."
"Ah, but Matilda is cuter, so don't worry."
"...Yes, Noein-sama."
While exchanging a conversation that held no particular meaning, Matilda still felt confusion in her heart.
Compared to the servants of the main building and the other slaves who had bullied Matilda until now, Noein was kind. Incomparably kind. That was a stroke of luck for Matilda, and for that very reason, Matilda was bewildered by the blessed environment that had suddenly descended upon her.
For these past few days, the work she had to do consisted of carrying meals, laundry, simple cleaning, and drawing water for the bathroom. It was a peaceful and easy set of days, incomparable to the time until now when she had been burdened only with dirty, heavy labor.
With that amount of work, a vast amount of time was left over, and during that time, she spent it killing time with Noein like this. It was almost like living a life of play. She became anxious, wondering if it was truly alright to live such an easy life.
Doubts also welled up, wondering if this blessed environment would continue forever, and if Noein would remain kind like this forever.
However, Noein, who had no way of knowing Matilda's inner thoughts, opened his mouth again while innocently gazing at the ladybug.
"Look, this ladybug has seven spots on its back. It's a type called the seven-spot ladybird."
"...Noein-sama is very knowledgeable. I think it is amazing."
"Ahaha, thank you, Matilda. I read about it in an encyclopedia before."
To Matilda's murmur, Noein replied with a laugh.
"By the way, in the Milleon Holy Church, ladybugs are considered incarnations of the sun. Because they're red and round. Along with their habit of being active in spring, they're said to be insects that symbolize blessings."
"Is that so? It is my first time learning that."
Seeing Matilda look at the ladybug with interest as she said this, Noein became happy.
Until now, there had been no existence that listened to his stories, admired him, and gave him answers. The squirrels and chicks he had cherished in the past had not done this much. He thought that she was all the more worth cherishing.
"...Ah,"
At that moment, the ladybug opened its wings and flew away, flying straight beyond the wooden fence.
Since there was no way to stop it, Noein and Matilda silently watched the departing ladybug.
"...Ladybugs are nice. Being able to go outside this fence freely."
Noein's murmuring voice contained a sorrowful emotion, and Matilda looked at Noein's profile in silence.