Stepping two steps down a flight of stairs, losing a silver coin for no reason, and then breaking a stick of incense while searching for it, stepping on its shards, and getting hurt.
“That’s strange.”
“It’s very strange.”
Judith and Erne both tilted their heads as they went to Beichi's lab to receive treatment. Judith was never a reckless person, even though she sometimes did something reckless.
Falling down is something that happens sometimes, but losing a silver coin? Breaking a candle that you just finished making? This was not something to be taken lightly.
“Thank goodness the glass shards weren’t deeply embedded.”
Beichi said as he bandaged Judith's feet.
“Be careful not to touch the water, Miss Harrington.”
“Thank you, Mr. Beichi.”
“I’ll give you some medicine, so please stay a moment.”
As soon as the bandages were wrapped, Beichi stood up first, trying to stop Judith from getting up.
“Do I need to take medicine too?”
Judith thought that a wound of this magnitude would heal with a few applications of ointment. But since Bechi was even asking for medicine, she was worried that the injury was worse than it looked.
“Oh, it’s not medicine for wounds.”
"Sure?"
“I think this is because Miss Harrington’s body is weak. When your body is weak, you tend to make mistakes you wouldn’t have made before. The mind and body are not separate, but one.”
Erne nodded vigorously as he listened to Beichi's words.
“That makes sense. If you skip meals and sleep late, you can’t possibly be healthy.”
“I just happened to have some herbs that replenish your energy, so take some and leave.”
Judith nodded obediently since she didn't need to refuse it since it was said to be a good medicine.
'Are you feeling a bit weak these days?'
So why do you keep making mistakes you never made before? Although she wasn't particularly physically exhausted, Judith took the health potion that Beichi gave her without complaint.
As Judith finished drinking the medicine and tried to get up, Erne picked her up.
“It would be best not to use your feet until they heal even a little.”
“Sir Erne is right.”
Erne showed no sign of discomfort even though he was carrying Judith on one arm while still sitting on the chair.
“How is it, is it comfortable? You need to raise my allowance.”
Erne carried Judith to her room and subtly asked for a raise in her allowance. Erne had been receiving an allowance from Judith every month. And Judith was very stingy.
"Allowance?"
Leaning casually on his shoulder, Judith let out a worried sigh.
“Erne, you lost that silver coin earlier. Find it and use it.”
“Wow, thank you so much.”
Erne laughed at Judith's kind words. They entered the incense workshop, bickering but still looking very friendly.
Kaya, who had come to find Beichi, stood in the hallway and looked closely at Judith and Erne. Judith in particular.
“What’s wrong, Kaya?”
Tan, who was passing by, noticed Kaya standing blankly in the middle of the hallway and approached her.
“Brother Tan, don’t you feel some kind of energy from Miss Harrington?”
"Huh?"
Tan looked at Judith, who was stroking Kaya's head and then being carried into the bedroom by Erne.
“Has the damp air gone away a bit?”
“No, that’s not it, oh well, that’s okay.”
Kaya turned around, looking frustrated, and went into Beichi's room. Behind her, Tan muttered, looking disappointed.
“Has our Kaya already reached puberty?”
“It’s cold today. It feels like winter.”
The time when the day ends.
I carefully drew the curtains on each window and sat down in front of the fireplace.
“It looks like it’s going to be cold this winter since it’s been this chilly since fall.”
“Does it snow a lot here in the winter?”
Erne, who was selecting suitable firewood from the pile of firewood next to the fireplace, was about to answer absentmindedly when he looked at me with a puzzled look.
“It always snows a lot in the winter. Why do you talk like it’s your first winter in the capital?”
Well, that's my first time spending winter in this world.
I did have memories of Judith, but I had to make a deliberate effort to remember them.
If I speak without thinking, I will end up making mistakes like this. I, who could not tell the truth, made a vague remark.
“It rained a lot all fall, so I guess there won’t be much snow this winter, something like that.”
“If it rains a lot in the fall, it’s natural that it’ll snow a lot in the winter too.”
From now on, I should think carefully before I speak. I asked the question without thinking deeply because Erne was so comfortable.
“Then I guess I should prepare firewood in advance.”
“That would be nice.”
Fortunately, Erne didn't seem to care when I slyly changed the subject. I took advantage of the moment when he turned his head to let out a short sigh, "Huh." Then I knelt down and moved closer to the fireplace.
It was to gently throw the firewood that Erne had chosen into the fireplace. If I threw it too hard, ashes and sparks would fly out, so I had to stand right next to the fireplace and throw it in with a tap.
So I throw them in one by one,
"Uh?"
In an instant, my body tilted forward as if someone had pushed me from behind.
My upper body fell into the blazing fireplace without even a moment to scream.
“...!”
Red flames filled my vision. I instinctively stretched my arms forward. Just before my fingertips could touch the burning logs, Erne stepped between me and the fireplace.
To be exact, he threw himself sideways while hugging me. Erne's shoulder, which was holding me in his arms, hit the floor with a thud.
I, who had her eyes tightly shut, was breathless and gasping for breath. My mind went blank. The only clear thing was that I had almost been in trouble.
"Ha..."
Erne let out a sigh instead of a laugh. The moment I fell into the fireplace, his eyes went black.
Fortunately, his body moved before his head, so no accident occurred, but he thought his heart was going to drop.
He tightened his arms around Judith. Without even the time to ask if she was okay, Erne just held her tightly.
“...Phew.”
Judith was even more absent-minded than Erne. After a long pause to catch her breath, she finally opened her tightly shut eyes.
"Ah..."
Slowly, deep green eyes entered her field of vision. The moment their eyes met, the green pupils of his eyes, mixed with worry and relief, shook.
It was because they were too close. Their noses were almost touching, and their breaths were intertwined.
“...”
“...”
An awkward, slightly excited silence filled the room. Judith couldn't move. She should have just thanked Erne and stood up, but for some reason, she couldn't move.
Her heart pounded. Judith couldn't tell whether it was because she was surprised or because Erne was so close.
Erne froze as he held Judith close. It occurred to him that if he made a single wrong move, he might end up in a different kind of accident than being thrown into the fireplace.
For no reason, his lower abdomen felt tight. Erne let out a deep breath as he watched the round, chestnut-brown eyes roll around in front of him.
When Judith, unable to bear the awkward silence, began to fidget, Erne's tense body also lost all its strength.
Erne's eyes darkened as he saw Judith slowly pushing her butt back, and he bit the tip of Judith's nose.
"Ah!"
It didn't hurt, but you bit the tip of my nose. No, even if your nickname is Mad Dog, are you really trying to become a dog? Judith covered the tip of her nose, frowned, and glared at Erne.
But Erne was upright.
“Who are you trying to kill with a heart attack?”
“I was surprised too.”
Judith sat up awkwardly, brushing her disheveled hair with her hand, then paused. She had been smelling something charred, and the tips of her hair were slightly charred.
“Where is it?”
“None. Thanks to you.”
Judith replied bashfully, wiping the tip of her nose. Erne, who would normally have said something like, “Is that a grateful attitude?” was for some reason quiet. Was he really surprised?
“Erne, are you really surprised?”
Judith asked worriedly. If Erne had fallen into the fireplace, she would have clutched her heart.
“I’m surprised, but it’s a bit strange. There’s no way you could fall like that from that position.”
If she had been kneeling and half-raised, she might have lost her balance, but Judith was sitting in a stable position with her buttocks and heels touching.
It was an accident that could not have happened without someone pushing. But there was no one behind Judith.
“I keep falling down, and something just doesn’t feel right...”
Knock knock.
At that moment, a small knock on the door interrupted Erne's speech. When he got up and opened the door, an unexpected guest was standing there.
It was Kaya, rubbing her eyes in her pajamas.
“Kaya. Why did you come down here at this hour instead of sleeping? If you don’t sleep, you won’t grow taller.”
“I woke up from my sleep.”
“Why, did you have a scary dream?”
“No. I just felt a strange aura.”
A small finger pointed across Erne to Judith.
“Over there.”
“That’s strange.”
“It’s very strange.”
Judith and Erne both tilted their heads as they went to Beichi's lab to receive treatment. Judith was never a reckless person, even though she sometimes did something reckless.
Falling down is something that happens sometimes, but losing a silver coin? Breaking a candle that you just finished making? This was not something to be taken lightly.
“Thank goodness the glass shards weren’t deeply embedded.”
Beichi said as he bandaged Judith's feet.
“Be careful not to touch the water, Miss Harrington.”
“Thank you, Mr. Beichi.”
“I’ll give you some medicine, so please stay a moment.”
As soon as the bandages were wrapped, Beichi stood up first, trying to stop Judith from getting up.
“Do I need to take medicine too?”
Judith thought that a wound of this magnitude would heal with a few applications of ointment. But since Bechi was even asking for medicine, she was worried that the injury was worse than it looked.
“Oh, it’s not medicine for wounds.”
"Sure?"
“I think this is because Miss Harrington’s body is weak. When your body is weak, you tend to make mistakes you wouldn’t have made before. The mind and body are not separate, but one.”
Erne nodded vigorously as he listened to Beichi's words.
“That makes sense. If you skip meals and sleep late, you can’t possibly be healthy.”
“I just happened to have some herbs that replenish your energy, so take some and leave.”
Judith nodded obediently since she didn't need to refuse it since it was said to be a good medicine.
'Are you feeling a bit weak these days?'
So why do you keep making mistakes you never made before? Although she wasn't particularly physically exhausted, Judith took the health potion that Beichi gave her without complaint.
As Judith finished drinking the medicine and tried to get up, Erne picked her up.
“It would be best not to use your feet until they heal even a little.”
“Sir Erne is right.”
Erne showed no sign of discomfort even though he was carrying Judith on one arm while still sitting on the chair.
“How is it, is it comfortable? You need to raise my allowance.”
Erne carried Judith to her room and subtly asked for a raise in her allowance. Erne had been receiving an allowance from Judith every month. And Judith was very stingy.
"Allowance?"
Leaning casually on his shoulder, Judith let out a worried sigh.
“Erne, you lost that silver coin earlier. Find it and use it.”
“Wow, thank you so much.”
Erne laughed at Judith's kind words. They entered the incense workshop, bickering but still looking very friendly.
Kaya, who had come to find Beichi, stood in the hallway and looked closely at Judith and Erne. Judith in particular.
“What’s wrong, Kaya?”
Tan, who was passing by, noticed Kaya standing blankly in the middle of the hallway and approached her.
“Brother Tan, don’t you feel some kind of energy from Miss Harrington?”
"Huh?"
Tan looked at Judith, who was stroking Kaya's head and then being carried into the bedroom by Erne.
“Has the damp air gone away a bit?”
“No, that’s not it, oh well, that’s okay.”
Kaya turned around, looking frustrated, and went into Beichi's room. Behind her, Tan muttered, looking disappointed.
“Has our Kaya already reached puberty?”
***
“It’s cold today. It feels like winter.”
The time when the day ends.
I carefully drew the curtains on each window and sat down in front of the fireplace.
“It looks like it’s going to be cold this winter since it’s been this chilly since fall.”
“Does it snow a lot here in the winter?”
Erne, who was selecting suitable firewood from the pile of firewood next to the fireplace, was about to answer absentmindedly when he looked at me with a puzzled look.
“It always snows a lot in the winter. Why do you talk like it’s your first winter in the capital?”
Well, that's my first time spending winter in this world.
I did have memories of Judith, but I had to make a deliberate effort to remember them.
If I speak without thinking, I will end up making mistakes like this. I, who could not tell the truth, made a vague remark.
“It rained a lot all fall, so I guess there won’t be much snow this winter, something like that.”
“If it rains a lot in the fall, it’s natural that it’ll snow a lot in the winter too.”
From now on, I should think carefully before I speak. I asked the question without thinking deeply because Erne was so comfortable.
“Then I guess I should prepare firewood in advance.”
“That would be nice.”
Fortunately, Erne didn't seem to care when I slyly changed the subject. I took advantage of the moment when he turned his head to let out a short sigh, "Huh." Then I knelt down and moved closer to the fireplace.
It was to gently throw the firewood that Erne had chosen into the fireplace. If I threw it too hard, ashes and sparks would fly out, so I had to stand right next to the fireplace and throw it in with a tap.
So I throw them in one by one,
"Uh?"
In an instant, my body tilted forward as if someone had pushed me from behind.
My upper body fell into the blazing fireplace without even a moment to scream.
“...!”
Red flames filled my vision. I instinctively stretched my arms forward. Just before my fingertips could touch the burning logs, Erne stepped between me and the fireplace.
To be exact, he threw himself sideways while hugging me. Erne's shoulder, which was holding me in his arms, hit the floor with a thud.
I, who had her eyes tightly shut, was breathless and gasping for breath. My mind went blank. The only clear thing was that I had almost been in trouble.
"Ha..."
Erne let out a sigh instead of a laugh. The moment I fell into the fireplace, his eyes went black.
Fortunately, his body moved before his head, so no accident occurred, but he thought his heart was going to drop.
He tightened his arms around Judith. Without even the time to ask if she was okay, Erne just held her tightly.
“...Phew.”
Judith was even more absent-minded than Erne. After a long pause to catch her breath, she finally opened her tightly shut eyes.
"Ah..."
Slowly, deep green eyes entered her field of vision. The moment their eyes met, the green pupils of his eyes, mixed with worry and relief, shook.
It was because they were too close. Their noses were almost touching, and their breaths were intertwined.
“...”
“...”
An awkward, slightly excited silence filled the room. Judith couldn't move. She should have just thanked Erne and stood up, but for some reason, she couldn't move.
Her heart pounded. Judith couldn't tell whether it was because she was surprised or because Erne was so close.
Erne froze as he held Judith close. It occurred to him that if he made a single wrong move, he might end up in a different kind of accident than being thrown into the fireplace.
For no reason, his lower abdomen felt tight. Erne let out a deep breath as he watched the round, chestnut-brown eyes roll around in front of him.
When Judith, unable to bear the awkward silence, began to fidget, Erne's tense body also lost all its strength.
Erne's eyes darkened as he saw Judith slowly pushing her butt back, and he bit the tip of Judith's nose.
"Ah!"
It didn't hurt, but you bit the tip of my nose. No, even if your nickname is Mad Dog, are you really trying to become a dog? Judith covered the tip of her nose, frowned, and glared at Erne.
But Erne was upright.
“Who are you trying to kill with a heart attack?”
“I was surprised too.”
Judith sat up awkwardly, brushing her disheveled hair with her hand, then paused. She had been smelling something charred, and the tips of her hair were slightly charred.
“Where is it?”
“None. Thanks to you.”
Judith replied bashfully, wiping the tip of her nose. Erne, who would normally have said something like, “Is that a grateful attitude?” was for some reason quiet. Was he really surprised?
“Erne, are you really surprised?”
Judith asked worriedly. If Erne had fallen into the fireplace, she would have clutched her heart.
“I’m surprised, but it’s a bit strange. There’s no way you could fall like that from that position.”
If she had been kneeling and half-raised, she might have lost her balance, but Judith was sitting in a stable position with her buttocks and heels touching.
It was an accident that could not have happened without someone pushing. But there was no one behind Judith.
“I keep falling down, and something just doesn’t feel right...”
Knock knock.
At that moment, a small knock on the door interrupted Erne's speech. When he got up and opened the door, an unexpected guest was standing there.
It was Kaya, rubbing her eyes in her pajamas.
“Kaya. Why did you come down here at this hour instead of sleeping? If you don’t sleep, you won’t grow taller.”
“I woke up from my sleep.”
“Why, did you have a scary dream?”
“No. I just felt a strange aura.”
A small finger pointed across Erne to Judith.
“Over there.”
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