Chapter 43 – Inferiority Complex

Ṛеɑɗ ​ȯｎ КａｔＲҽɑ​ɗі​ոɡ​Ḉα​ſė

Following Hosanna, I started to remember the way.

If I had known it would be like this, I would have said a proper goodbye and come alone. Andreina suppressed her disappointment and exhaled through her nose.

During the walk, there was no conversation between the two. Conversations are for getting to know each other, but neither of them particularly wanted to know the other. Besides, Andreina wasn’t the type of person like Mari who would get anxious without conversation, so silence naturally followed.

Fortunately, the silence didn’t last long. As Mari’s house came into view, Andreina slightly increased her slow pace.

Although the walking speed remained the same, Andreina was able to overtake Hosanna and reach the door first simply by widening her stride.

“Hmm.”

Hosanna let out an uncomfortable cough at the sight.

It wasn’t so much that he was upset because she had overtaken him, but rather a dissatisfaction with his small stature.

Of course, Andreina’s actions had triggered that dissatisfaction, so it couldn’t be said that it was completely unrelated.

In any case, although he had chosen the dwarf race, Hosanna had invested heavily in his appearance stats when creating his character sheet, so he was tall for a dwarf.

Expressed in the units his homeland loved, he was 4 feet 9 inches, and in international standard units, he was about 145cm.

Thanks to this, he was taller than Mari, who was about 139cm, but smaller than the average adult woman. By a lot.

And Andreina was a head taller than Hosanna. That’s why she was able to easily overtake him by widening her stride, even though her walking speed didn’t change.

Considering that he used to be a giant over 180cm in the past, it was a very frustrating thing for Hosanna.

Still, he wasn’t so bad-tempered as to vent his frustration about his reduced height on others, so he suppressed the inferiority complex that had risen to his head with a cough.

In the first place, it wasn’t like Andreina treated him like a kid, was it? She just went ahead first, and getting angry at that was an unreasonable rage.

In fact, even if that was really her intention, he wouldn’t be able to lift a finger against Andreina, so he had no choice but to endure it.

While Hosanna was pressing his fingers on his narrowed brow to smooth it out, Andreina raised her hand to knock.

Then, suddenly remembering the last commotion, she slyly lowered her hand and cleared her throat.

‘I shouldn’t startle her by knocking unnecessarily.’

Although they had resolved the misunderstanding, Mari’s personality made it highly likely that she would still be surprised by a knock. So, it would be better to call out loudly here.

“Mari, are you inside?”

Not too loud, but in a higher voice than usual, Andreina spoke towards the inside. But even after time passed, no sign of life could be heard from within.

Could she be sleeping until this time? Andreina briefly thought that, but immediately shook her head in denial.

Surprisingly, the girl named Mari was diligent. Although it was to avoid the crowded times, she woke up early in the morning and headed to the dungeon. And she lived a regular life, always coming to the cathedral around noon to eat together.

There was no way that Mari, who had been like that, would be lazy until now. Thinking so, Andreina called out to Mari again in a louder voice.

But this time as well, there was no answer.

“Maybe she’s not inside.”

“That can’t be. I can see her holding her breath inside.”

“Pardon?”

“Could you step back for a moment?”

Having shaken off his inferiority complex, Hosanna smiled brightly with his usual face as he asked, and Andreina stepped back with a reluctant expression.

But as if that wasn’t enough, Hosanna gestured for her to go further back. While stepping back following that gesture, Andreina asked with a puzzled voice.

“But what are you going to do that you’re telling me to step back like this…”

“Just in case. First of all, the door is… well locked. It would have been better if it was open this time.”

Hosanna muttered that as he took out his wand. At that sight, Andreina’s eyes widened greatly.

Taking out a wand, which was no different from a weapon to a mage, meant nothing else.

“Wait, Hosanna-nim-“

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I won’t blow it all up like last time.”

“Blow it up?”

What on earth was that supposed to mean? While Andreina, who was trying to stop him, couldn’t hide her bewilderment, Hosanna tapped the door with his wand and said quietly.

“Set, shoot.”

Bang-!

A flash occurred at the same time as the impact, and a small explosion followed.

Andreina instinctively raised her arms to cover her face, but realizing that the explosion was smaller than she thought, she lowered her arms and looked.

The door, which had been firmly closed until just now, was wide open in Hosanna’s hands. Although there was a large hole in one spot, he hadn’t blown it all up as he had promised.

Well, he would have to install a new door anyway.

“Ta-da~ The door is open.”

Hosanna said playfully, like a magician who had just performed a magic trick.

Andreina looked at him with an absurd gaze, but as if it was nothing, Hosanna put his hands behind his back and entered the house.

“Wait, don’t go in alone!”

She couldn’t leave such a headstrong person alone with Mari. Andreina hurriedly followed him.

The inside of the house, which they entered stepping on the broken lock and door fragments, was dark. The lights weren’t on, and the windows were covered with curtains, so you could think it was midnight if you closed the door.

Seeing how dark it was, she thought that maybe she had gone out, but Hosanna gestured.

“She’s over there.”

The place Hosanna pointed to was the bed, and for some reason, the blanket was bulging. Andreina let out a long sigh and moved towards the bed.

The closer the footsteps got, the more the bulging part twitched, but she had no intention of letting it go this time.

Reaching the bed, Andreina gripped the blanket tightly and said.

“Mari, it’s time to wake up.”

Announcing the belated wake-up call, she quickly pulled back the blanket. With a flutter- as the blanket disappeared with the sound of wind, Mari’s figure, who had been crouching, was finally revealed.

Hugging a crudely made wooden doll tightly, she made an awkward expression as she looked at Andreina looking down at her.

“A-Ah, hello. Ah, Andreina-nim…”

“…There are so many things I want to ask, but I have to ask this first. Why are you in your underwear, and half-naked at that?”

“W-When I sleep alone, I usually sleep like this…? Hehe…”

“Don’t laugh.”

“Yes, yes…”

Andreina, who resolutely cut off the presumptuous attempt to gloss over the situation with laughter, put the blanket she had taken back on Mari’s head again, then dry-washed her face and took a deep breath.

Then she turned her head towards Hosanna. He seemed to have guessed the situation after hearing the story roughly, and said with his eyes covered with both hands.

“Saintess. I didn’t see anything.”

“…I understand, so could you please go outside for a moment? I think I need to get Mari dressed.”

“Aye aye.”

Watching Hosanna disappear out of the house with his eyes covered, Andreina lifted the blanket again.

Her eyes, with dark circles slightly under them, rolling around here and there trying to somehow smooth over the situation, were truly exasperating and pitiful at the same time.

What on earth was the problem that she was locking herself up like this? If only she had asked me for help, but could it be that she still didn’t trust me?

Andreina’s desire to grumble suddenly rose, but after reminding herself that it was an attitude that wouldn’t help Mari at all, she opened her mouth.

“First, let’s get you dressed.”

“Yes…”

“And I’ll give you pajamas, so wear them when you sleep at home from now on.”

“Yes, yes? B-But…”

“But?”

“Ah, no. I-I will. Please let me do that…”

At the sight of Andreina, who was glaring with her eyes unlike usual, Mari trembled and bowed her head deeply.

It was said that a gentle person is scarier when they get angry, and she was exactly like that.

Andreina, who had suppressed the resistance in an instant, helped Mari, who was very intimidated, put on the clothes she had taken out, and asked what she had been curious about since a while ago.

“But what is this bread smell? It was wafting as soon as I lifted the blanket.”

“Ah, I-I ate bread in the blanket. For about three days…”

“…Why have you been eating bread in the blanket for three days, Mari?”

“I didn’t have the motivation to go outside the blanket…”

Thwack!

“Ouch?!”

Mari, who was holding the area that was turning red from being flicked on the forehead, looked up at Andreina with surprised eyes. It was because she hadn’t thought that she would be flicked on the forehead by Andreina.

But this was also a very restrained action for Andreina. She wanted to take Mari to the cathedral as she was and scold her until tears streamed down her face.

Although she was holding back for now because Mari’s condition wasn’t normal and she didn’t know what kind of story she had yet.

Andreina took a small deep breath and then spoke in a calm voice.

“First of all, I’ll listen to what happened, but if it’s a ridiculous reason…”

“…”

“I won’t just let it go this time either.”

Just because she was holding back didn’t mean she would just let it go.

“Hic…!”

At Andreina’s threat, Mari trembled and nodded her head fiercely.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
It would be nice if there is anything I can write nowadays, but I don’t think I have anything to say.

So since there is nothing that I can say, there’s nothing but a thank you.

Thank you for reading today too! ^^

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Eating in bed? 

Let’s brutally torture this brat!!

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