Chapter 15

Яėａⅾ ｏṅ ǨａтȒｅａⅾɩɴɡСａϝė

“Lucy, we’re going fishing today!”

Peter said with an excited face.

“Sam made a fishing net this time!”

“…”

Lucy quietly looked at the net in Sam’s hand.

‘Why does Sam keep making stuff like this?’

“Huh? Where’s Kai?”

Peter asked.

Since Peter and Sam visited Lucy’s house almost every day, they were already familiar with Kairos.

Of course, they didn’t know Kairos was a dragon; they just thought he was a handsome guy from a neighboring village.

“He went home.”

At Lucy’s words, Sam made a disappointed face.

“Aww, man… I wanted to show Kai the net I made…”

“He’ll be back later.”

“Let’s go for now! We’ll show it to Kai later!”

Peter seemed eager to catch fish right away.

“With this net, we’ll catch so many fish! Come on, Lucy!”

Peter grabbed Lucy’s arm and urged her.

Lucy asked quietly,

“What are you going to do with the fish after catching them?”

“What do you mean? Of course…”

Peter thought for a moment and said,

“We’ll eat them!”

At that, a smile spread across Lucy’s lips.

“Then sure.”

If they were catching fish to raise them like the rabbit last time, there was no need to join them.

Lucy wasn’t particularly interested in raising animals.

But if it was for eating, she was willing to go along.

She had been getting tired of eating mushroom dishes lately, so this was perfect timing.

“Let’s go. Fishing…!”

Lucy stepped forward energetically (not really).

◈

Following Peter and Sam, Lucy arrived at the river near the village and glanced around.

The riverside was peaceful.

The gentle sound of flowing water and the rustling leaves in the wind harmonized beautifully.

The morning sunlight sparkled on the river’s surface, dancing like tiny jewels.

“Sam, let’s start right away!”

“Yeah!”

Peter and Sam rolled up their pants and waded into the river.

Sam spread the net and threw it into the water, while Peter threw stones to herd the fish toward it.

Lucy sat by the riverbank and quietly watched their actions.

A moment later, Peter and Sam lifted the net.

“Whoa! We caught some!”

“So many! Lucy, look at this!”

Peter and Sam approached Lucy with the net.

Lucy stood up and peered into the net.

Inside, fish of various sizes wriggled and flopped around.

A smile spread across Lucy’s lips.

“You caught a lot.”

“Right? Sam’s net is amazing!”

When Peter praised him, Sam scratched his head sheepishly.

“I-It was just luck…”

Peter and Sam carefully placed the caught fish into a prepared bucket.

Watching the fish swim inside the bucket, Peter and Sam beamed.

“But how are we going to cook these?”

Peter asked.

“We don’t know how to cook.”

“Well.”

Lucy spoke up.

“Let’s ask my grandfather.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Your grandfather’s cooking is the best!”

“Yeah. Lucy’s grandfather’s food is really delicious.”

“Let’s go to Lucy’s house!”

Peter and Sam carried the bucket of fish between them, grunting as they walked.

The bucket was heavy since it was filled with water.

Lucy said to Peter and Sam,

“I’ll help too.”

But Peter and Sam shook their heads in unison.

“No. This is something guys should do.”

“Yeah. This is something guys should do.”

“…”

Lucy looked at Peter and Sam with a worried expression.

She was afraid they might spill the bucket and lose the fish.

‘It’d be easier if I summoned an undead to carry it…’

Just as Lucy was thinking that,

“Stop.”

A voice called out from ahead.

“?”

Looking up, Lucy saw a boy.

The boy looked young.

He seemed to be around Lucy’s age.

Despite that, he was wearing expensive-looking armor.

It was probably custom-made, but it still looked a bit awkward.

He looked like a kid playing knight.

“Are you kids from the nearby village?”

The boy asked.

His voice was youthful, but he tried to sound authoritative.

“…?”

Peter and Sam looked at the boy, confused.

Lucy didn’t say anything either.

When no one answered the boy’s question, someone behind him shouted,

“Hey, answer immediately!”

It was a middle-aged man in armor. He seemed to be the boy’s bodyguard.

“This is Young Master Ed, the son of Lord Leyton, who rules this region!”

He was indeed a bodyguard.

“Show proper respect to the young master and answer his question!”

When the bodyguard spoke in a threatening tone, Peter and Sam quickly put down the bucket of fish and bowed their heads.

Even though they were kids from a rural village, they knew how to behave in front of nobility.

“W-We’re from the nearby village.”

“Yeah. We’re…”

But Lucy just stared at the boy with an expressionless face.

She understood that this boy, Ed, was a noble and that she should bow, but for some reason, it didn’t feel right.

After all, he was just a ten-year-old kid.

A kid like that, wearing awkward armor and pretending to be a noble, didn’t leave much of an impression on Lucy.

If anything, he looked cute.

Because of that, a smile spread across Lucy’s lips as she looked at Ed.

“…?”

Seeing Lucy’s smile, Ed’s expression stiffened.

“Y-You laughed?”

Lucy quickly tried to suppress her smile.

It wasn’t because she was afraid of Ed or his bodyguard.

She just felt like laughing in this situation wasn’t appropriate.

But it was already too late.

Ed stomped over to Lucy with an irritated expression.

Now face-to-face with Lucy, Ed glared at her.

“You, you laughed at me just now, didn’t you?”

Up close, Ed looked even cuter.

Definitely a noble, he had an air of elegance unlike mischievous Peter or chubby Sam.

“Sorry.”

Lucy apologized.

At that, Ed’s expression twisted.

Apologizing meant admitting she had laughed.

“Why, why did you laugh? Do I look funny to you?”

“No.”

Lucy shook her head.

Then, looking straight at Ed, she said,

“…You’re cute.”

“C-Cute? Who? Me?!”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Ed’s expression stiffened again.

His eyes darted around as if he was shocked.

Soon, his face turned red, and it eventually became as red as a tomato.

“W-What are you talking about?!”

Ed spun around and shouted.

He seemed extremely embarrassed.

At that moment, Ed’s bodyguard stepped forward.

“You insolent girl! How dare you say such a thing to the young master!”

Swoosh—!

He sharply drew his sword.

“Young Master, this is an insult! I’ll cut this girl’s head off right now!”

“No, wait…”

Ed panicked and tried to stop him.

“There’s no need to cut her head off…”

“Young Master, you cannot let such rudeness slide! To dare call the future ruler of this region ‘cute’—this is an unforgivable insult!”

“It’s not really an insult…”

Ed waved his hand.

“I’m fine. They’re just kids who don’t know any better. We can teach them properly this time.”

“Hmph…”

The bodyguard looked displeased, but since he couldn’t defy Ed’s words, he eventually sheathed his sword.

Once the situation settled, Ed turned back to Lucy.

“Hey, you shouldn’t say things like that to nobles so casually. I think you just don’t know better, but if you say something like that carelessly, you could lose your head. Got it?”

At Ed’s words, Lucy nodded.

At the same time, she glanced at Ed’s bodyguard.

The bodyguard was still glaring at Lucy with a fierce expression.

Not that Lucy was scared, of course.

“By the way, what’s this?”

Ed pointed to the bucket of fish and asked.

His face was still slightly red.

“Did you catch these fish?”

“Y-Yes. We caught them with a net.”

When Peter answered, Ed’s face lit up with interest.

“You really caught these by yourselves?”

“Yes. With the net Sam made…”

“Wow, can I try catching some too?”

Lucy returned to the riverside.

It was because Ed wanted to try catching fish.

Peter and Sam, being commoners, couldn’t refuse Ed’s request, and Lucy didn’t particularly mind.

There was still some time before lunch anyway.

“If you hold the net, we’ll lure the fish with stones.”

“You have to hold it steady.”

“Got it.”

Ed held the net with a serious expression, and Peter and Sam lured the fish with stones, just like before.

“Now! You can lift it!”

The three of them lifted the net together.

“Whoa!”

Ed exclaimed.

“We caught so many!”

Watching from a distance, Lucy smiled quietly.

Even if he’s a noble, he’s still just a kid.

“This is amazing! I caught fish!”

“You’re awesome!”

“So cool!”

“No, but you guys helped me! It’s thanks to you! You’re even more amazing!”

The three kids praised each other.

Just then, a sharp sound, swoosh, was heard.

When Lucy turned her gaze, she saw Ed’s bodyguard drawing his sword with a grave expression.

His gaze was fixed directly on Ed.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Come to think of it, we never really got an idea on how old the protagonist really is.

For all I could know, he is just some teenager with a fixation on necromancers…

That’s probably true.