Consultation

Inho’s eyes snapped open in the darkness.

In the old days, he would have drowsily tried to fall back asleep, but strangely, his eyes were wide awake, and he didn’t think he could sleep anymore.

“……..”

As Inho slowly sat up, the blanket that had been up to his neck slid down and caught on his waist.

Inho stared blankly at the still-dark outside, scratching his neck.

“Wide awake now.”

The shave Emma gave him was so comfortable that he must have fallen asleep.

He was sure his last memory was of the chair, but Inho figured he must have been moved to the bed while he was asleep.

He forced his joints, which were making discordant noises, to move and got out of bed.

He stood before the window.

The large window next to the bed was perfect for viewing the scenery, but it didn’t seem very good at blocking the cold air coming in from outside.

Of course, it was unreasonable to compare it to modern construction methods.

“It’s stuffy.”

The outside air coming in through the window’s tiny cracks didn’t seem to be ventilating the room’s stuffiness.

Ahem, ahem. Inho cleared his throat and opened the door to the room to get some fresh air.

The door opened, and a dark hallway greeted him.

Inho put a candle in a lamp in the room and left. It was a medieval flashlight, so to speak.

-Creak, creak.

The floorboards creaked every time Inho took a step.

The silent mansion exaggerated every action of the old man.

Inho dragged his heavy legs and slowly walked down the hallway, and when he reached the stairs, he heard the sound of a door opening next to his room.

“Master?”

Emma, dressed in somewhat casual attire, called out to him.

“Ah.”

It wasn’t like he’d been caught doing something wrong, but Inho didn’t know what to say and remained silent.

While Inho remained silent, Emma approached with quick steps.

“……”

Then, she stared intently at Inho’s face, which was revealed in the dim light of the candle.

“It is you, Master, isn’t it?”

It was a question that implied a lot.

“Yes. The one you shaved.”

It didn’t take long for Inho to realize what Emma was afraid of.

He gave a kind smile and stroked Emma’s head with his empty hand.

“I’m so relieved.”

Emma sighed in relief, as if relieved.

“Did I wake you?”

Inho asked, worried that he might have woken someone who was sound asleep.

“No. I usually wake up around this time to prepare for my daily tasks. You just woke up earlier than usual, Master.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Was there anything you needed?”

“Ah… I was just going to get some fresh air because it was stuffy.”

“Then, would you mind waiting five minutes? It’s cold.”

Without waiting for Inho’s answer, Emma headed somewhere.

Inho, unable to go down the stairs or back to his room, waited awkwardly for about five minutes, and Emma returned with a thick fur coat.

She carefully held out the fur coat, and Inho reached out and put it on.

His body was already uncomfortable to move, and he felt even more sluggish with the fur coat, which he didn’t like.

But he decided not to show it, appreciating Emma’s thoughtfulness.

“Please understand if it’s heavy. I would be so heartbroken if you caught a cold, Master.”

Emma said quietly, as if she had read his mind.

“No, it’s okay. It’s warm and nice.”

Inho answered immediately, feeling a little guilty, and carefully went down the stairs.

Thus began the early morning walk.

It was a season when the sun rose late, so it didn’t seem much different from night.

But as Inho walked slowly through the garden, he could see the dawn breaking in the distance.

Emma followed Inho half a step behind, providing additional explanations like a docent about what Inho was looking at in the garden.

Whether it was because he was a fairly well-known writer in his younger days, he had received quite a few gifts.

“The Divine Doctor is coming today, right?”

“Yes. He said he would come before lunch.”

“Will it take long?”

“It’s been a while since your last checkup, but I don’t think it will take that long.”

“It would be nice if I were healthy. Don’t you think?”

Inho smiled and turned around, and Emma stopped abruptly when she saw his face.

“Emma?”

Inho called her name, seeing Emma staring at him blankly.

“Ah… Ah! Yes. Yes. It’s good to be healthy.”

Emma blushed and turned her head away.

As Emma had said, the Divine Doctor visited before lunch, when Inho was finishing his breakfast and enjoying tea time.

Inho had expected someone his age, but he was a little surprised to see a younger Divine Doctor.

The Divine Doctor carefully examined Inho’s body as he sat on the bed and asked Inho a few questions.

Inho answered the questions appropriately, and the Divine Doctor wrote something on the paper he had brought.

Inho glanced over, trying to see what the Divine Doctor was writing, but he couldn’t understand the strange characters.

Just like when he had fallen into the martial arts world, he could understand the language, but he couldn’t understand the writing.

“Not bad. You’re healthy. You could even write a new book! Hahahaha.”

The Divine Doctor gave a good-natured smile, and Inho returned the smile.

The Divine Doctor put away his examination tools and stood up, and Inho also stood up and extended his hand.

The Divine Doctor shook his hand and said that he missed Inho’s writing.

“My father and I are big fans of your writing.”

“I’m honored.”

“We’ll be waiting for your new book.”

“Yes.”

As he was about to send off the Divine Doctor with a warm smile, the Divine Doctor, who was about to leave, turned around and looked at Emma.

“Ah, Emma.”

“Yes.”

“There are a few simple precautions for your master’s health… Do you have a moment? Somewhere a little quiet would be nice.”

The Divine Doctor glanced at Inho, and Emma didn’t miss the signal.

“Please follow me. Master, I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

“Then, I’ll be in the garden for a while.”

“Um… Then, could you please stay where I can see you from the window?”

“Okay. Don’t worry.”

Leaving Emma and the Divine Doctor behind, Inho went back out to the garden.

As he walked slowly, he heard someone calling him from somewhere.

“Mr. Inho. Mr. Inho.”

He turned his head towards the sound and saw the man who had visited yesterday calling him.

Inho slowly approached the gate.

An old man and a young man faced each other across the iron gate.

“Mr. Inho. You remember me, right? I’m Hans from the general store.”

“Ah… the general store. I think I remember….”

Inho didn’t bother to lie and say he knew.

The man in front of Inho was a very pleasant-looking young man.

Why was he calling him? Inho was a little curious.

“But what’s the matter?”

“Well, it’s about Emma at your house.”

“Yes. She’s there.”

“You know it’s the village festival soon, right?”

“Festival?”

“Ah, you didn’t know. Anyway, it’s the village festival soon. The young people in the village pair up and dance.”

“That’s a nice custom.”

“Right? Ah, anyway. I asked Emma to dance with me, but she said she’s too busy with work at the mansion….”

Hans kept smiling, but his eyes darted back and forth.

“So what are you trying to say?”

Inho, a little tired of the roundabout conversation, threw a direct ball.

“If it’s okay with you… could you lighten Emma’s workload on the day of the festival a little…? Eek!!!”

Hans, who was stammering out his purpose, was startled by something.

“Hmm?”

Inho turned his body towards where his gaze was fixed and saw Emma and the Divine Doctor standing there, looking at Hans with expressionless faces.

“Master, the Divine Doctor is leaving.”

“Ah, I see you’re done talking. Thank you for today.”

“Haha, it was nothing. Please take good care of your health, Mr. Inho.”

The door opened, and the Divine Doctor left.

The maid politely bowed to the Divine Doctor and closed the iron gate with a bang.

“……”

And she just glared at Hans.

Inho, thrown into the awkward silence, felt embarrassed and spoke first.

“Emma, do you want to go to the festival?”

-Cracking

In response to Inho’s question, Emma made a grinding sound from her mouth.

“No, Master. I will ab.so.lute.ly not go to any fes.ti.val.”

“Ah… really? I was just going to say that if you couldn’t go because of work, you could….”

“Master. You should have lunch soon, so let’s go inside.”

“Ah, okay. Um… Hans. I think it’s best if you two figure out the festival on your own.”

Inho, pressed by Emma’s force, quickly said goodbye to Hans and went into the mansion.

“…Emma. Um… well, what I mean is.”

“…Mr. Hans.”

Emma, after confirming that Inho had entered the mansion, lowered her voice and growled.

“If you keep bothering me, I’ll kill you.”

Before Hans could answer, Emma turned around and followed her master.

Watching Emma walk away, Hans muttered.

“Wow… she’s pretty even when she’s angry.”

It seemed that Emma’s warning had not been properly conveyed to Hans.

Emma, who had returned to the mansion, saw Inho just now going up to the second floor and entering his room.

“…Master.”

Emma called her master desperately.

Emma recalled the conversation she had with the Divine Doctor.

‘I couldn’t say it in front of Mr. Inho, but I think you should know, Emma.’

‘It’s not necessarily a good thing for a dementia patient to temporarily regain their strength and function normally.’

‘It could be the patient burning their last life, so be prepared.’

‘Prepare for what?’

Feeling a lump of iron falling into her chest, Emma had asked the Divine Doctor.

The Divine Doctor, not hiding his complicated emotions, looked straight at Emma and said.

‘Prepare to send off your master.’

“What should I do, our master? I feel so sorry for him.”

Emma’s face, which seemed like it would never collapse, crumbled in an instant like a broken dam.