Penny was sure. This guy really had a bad personality.
'It was true that Dubliners were handsome and shameless!'
She has never met a decent person who said only what he wanted to say from beginning to end, as if it were none of his business what other people said. But Penny loved to talk, and she was crazy about spreading rumors, so she talked excitedly, using an instinct stronger than her discomfort. So this is an irresistible force.
“Andrew? He’s a fool who follows Leila around and confesses to her all the time. Leila rejects him every time, saying he’s annoying, but Mr. Ben thinks that there’s no one in the village her age who’s as smart and strong-willed as him, so he finds him quite cute. Since he found out, he’s been talking about his father-in-law all the time, like, ugh, dirty...”
“...”
“Anyway, first explain why you’re going with Mr. Ben. Hand it over to me. I’ll just give it to Leila instead!”
“...Wow, you talk a lot, young lady.”
Aaron gently pressed Penny's temples as she tried to jump again, then released her and walked over to Ben without even looking at her.
“Mr. Ben, go home and rest.”
“Oh my god, damn it!”
Ben was about to become one with the alley. Still, he seemed to have come to his senses, muttering, “Damn, I’m getting old.” Aaron, who had given Ben a shoulder to rest on, stopped vomiting and stared at the boy named Andrew, who was looking up at him. He was an ordinary country boy, not particularly special.
Andrew raised his head as if his mind had been shaken, then stiffened his shoulders. He thought he knew most of the townspeople, and he actually did, but the man was very unfamiliar. And the cold smile of the unfamiliar man was unnerving in its own way.
“What, what is it?”
“...What... Is Andrew your friend?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but.”
"Yes."
The man who answered absentmindedly looked at the flyer stuck on the alley wall. After looking at it for a while, the man shrugged his shoulders and started walking away, almost carrying Ben on his back.
“Mr. Ben, come to your senses.”
In one hand he was carrying the things that Leila had left behind, and in the other he was carrying Leila's father like a bundle. He didn't look the least bit tired.
Andrew, who had been feeling slightly nervous just a moment ago, felt strangely uneasy.
'Is being strong something to brag about?'
As he tried to approach Penny, wiping his mouth that was stained with the new water, Penny ran away shouting, "It's dirty!"
“Penny, you ugly thing!”
Andrew grumbled and made a sad face.
They walked along the dirt road that stretched along the river. Unlike when they came, there were two of them on the way back. Ben, who had been unsteadily supported by Aaron, tried to walk alone as if he had sobered up.
“Don’t push yourself. I can carry you for you.”
“You’ve become so skinny.”
“I think this is a decent size. I’m not that skinny.”
“Whew!”
'It was true that Dubliners were handsome and shameless!'
She has never met a decent person who said only what he wanted to say from beginning to end, as if it were none of his business what other people said. But Penny loved to talk, and she was crazy about spreading rumors, so she talked excitedly, using an instinct stronger than her discomfort. So this is an irresistible force.
“Andrew? He’s a fool who follows Leila around and confesses to her all the time. Leila rejects him every time, saying he’s annoying, but Mr. Ben thinks that there’s no one in the village her age who’s as smart and strong-willed as him, so he finds him quite cute. Since he found out, he’s been talking about his father-in-law all the time, like, ugh, dirty...”
“...”
“Anyway, first explain why you’re going with Mr. Ben. Hand it over to me. I’ll just give it to Leila instead!”
“...Wow, you talk a lot, young lady.”
Aaron gently pressed Penny's temples as she tried to jump again, then released her and walked over to Ben without even looking at her.
“Mr. Ben, go home and rest.”
“Oh my god, damn it!”
Ben was about to become one with the alley. Still, he seemed to have come to his senses, muttering, “Damn, I’m getting old.” Aaron, who had given Ben a shoulder to rest on, stopped vomiting and stared at the boy named Andrew, who was looking up at him. He was an ordinary country boy, not particularly special.
Andrew raised his head as if his mind had been shaken, then stiffened his shoulders. He thought he knew most of the townspeople, and he actually did, but the man was very unfamiliar. And the cold smile of the unfamiliar man was unnerving in its own way.
“What, what is it?”
“...What... Is Andrew your friend?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but.”
"Yes."
The man who answered absentmindedly looked at the flyer stuck on the alley wall. After looking at it for a while, the man shrugged his shoulders and started walking away, almost carrying Ben on his back.
“Mr. Ben, come to your senses.”
In one hand he was carrying the things that Leila had left behind, and in the other he was carrying Leila's father like a bundle. He didn't look the least bit tired.
Andrew, who had been feeling slightly nervous just a moment ago, felt strangely uneasy.
'Is being strong something to brag about?'
As he tried to approach Penny, wiping his mouth that was stained with the new water, Penny ran away shouting, "It's dirty!"
“Penny, you ugly thing!”
Andrew grumbled and made a sad face.
***
They walked along the dirt road that stretched along the river. Unlike when they came, there were two of them on the way back. Ben, who had been unsteadily supported by Aaron, tried to walk alone as if he had sobered up.
“Don’t push yourself. I can carry you for you.”
“You’ve become so skinny.”
“I think this is a decent size. I’m not that skinny.”
“Whew!”
Aaron's words were true. As Leila began to take care of him and he began to take care of himself, Aaron gained weight. He had originally been neat and handsome, so with just a little care, he became so good that he would no longer be called a slacker. He thinks it was all thanks to Leila and Ben.
“So, you have nothing to say to me!”
Aaron smiled slightly at Ben's sudden shout and returned the question without context. His gaze was straight ahead.
“Do you like that kid from earlier?”
“Who would ask something like that?”
“It doesn’t look that good to me.”
"What?"
“What a reckless kid.”
Ben glared in astonishment.
You Dublin guy, why are you talking down on the innocent young man from Casnier right now? Ben was about to argue with him because he was so angry. Aaron's expression was so gloomy that it was unbelievable.
“Yes! I’ll marry my daughter off to that bastard! It’ll be a thousand times better than giving her to that Dublin bastard!”
“...If that’s what Mr. Ben meant, then I have no right to say anything, but what you said earlier really struck me.”
“That bastard, you even went to war, you have no spirit! No spirit!”
“If I do as I please, wouldn’t it be like repaying Mr. Ben’s kindness with enmity?”
“What do you want to do?”
Aaron quickly caught Ben as he swayed around on the rocks as if dancing. Eren smiled bitterly and said in a dubious tone.
“If it were up to me, I would sell all the properties in my hometown that were in my name and kidnap Leila to a place that wasn’t Dublin or Ramrock...”
“Have you seen this shameless bastard! Just try to touch my daughter!”
"Sorry."
“What are you apologizing for? Did you touch her? You didn’t touch her, did you!”
Aaron was silent. After witnessing a young man of Leila's age slap Ben in the city earlier, he, too, had been thinking a lot. He hadn't had much to drink, so perhaps he was just being greedy again, forgetting his situation.
On a topic that is not even honorable, Leila will have to start a family someday... He is jealous of a situation that has not happened yet. How can he be this pathetic?
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Ben jumped up and ran towards Aaron, kicking him. Aaron quickly stepped back, but Ben's feet were faster as he kicked him.
“Ah, it hurts.”
“A soldier’s reflexes are just like this!”
“...You drank alcohol, didn’t you?”
“It’s a miracle from God that you came back alive from that damned battlefield!”
“It’s not so much a miracle as it is a result of my painstaking efforts to abandon my conscience.”
The last words were veiled in a light tone, as if they were jokes. Ben lowered his fist that was about to hit Aaron, took a deep breath, and walked ahead.
Ben repeated his previous question in a lowered voice.
“Do you really have nothing to say to me?”
“...Thank you for your concern.”
“Not that! The wanted poster that Walter mentioned earlier!”
At today's drinking party, the topic of Dublin and Ramrock inevitably came up.
Although it was just a bunch of country bumpkins talking, Casnier was located between Ramrock's big cities, so the military came and went frequently, so information was surprisingly fast. And Walter, who lived in the city, knew much more than Ben or Leila. Walter said that wanted posters had been posted all over Casnier since the afternoon of the previous day.
“I saw it earlier. With my own eyes.”
"When?"
“When Mr. Ben is wasting the hard work of the brewers?”
Ben glared at Aaron with his axe eyes. He has a cheeky side. When he acts like a snake, he really wants to shoot a bullet in his head.
“Just ask if you’re curious. I’ll answer anything you ask me honestly, Mr. Ben.”
“...”
“If you think I’m suspicious.”
Ben suddenly turned around and stopped.
Aaron stopped walking and stood facing him.
“Why are you always like that, you little brat?”
What should I say? His already complicated mind is sinking even colder. The one who is the most frustrated is Aaron, who has no choice but to do this. Leila is from Ramrock, and he is a former soldier from Dublin who is not recognized in Ramrock. He is holding on with hypocrisy, even erasing his original identity.
“What do you think people are?”
“No, Mr. Ben... I just...”
“Don’t you even know why I carried you around today?”
Ben beat his chest as if he were going to die from frustration. Even though it was only for a few days, sometimes a person's character can be seen through the little things.
As far as Ben could see, Aaron was impeccable, except that he was from Dublin. Well-educated, polite, and thoughtful, he was a decent man with a good education. He was much better than the uneducated, snotty little brats of Casnier.
Even if Leila hadn't been clinging to Aaron like a cicada to a tree, Ben would have liked to have known him as a person, a person, beyond the feelings of nation to nation.
But Aaron, who didn't even tell him his real name and lived under a false identity, built an excessive wall around the fact that he was from Dublin.
Honestly, if a bastard has accepted this much, shouldn't he have some luck with Leila? He's always been a thorn in his side because of that ignorant guy.
Of course, if he asks for his daughter, he'll beat him up and throw him out.
It was clear that the alcohol had made his brain a mess. Why did he keep looking so pitiful? Ben wondered why he was feeling sorry for the Dublin guy, but it was true. He hated seeing him floating around like oil in the Cask.
“I don’t want to be a nuisance to Mr. Ben and Leila. You must have seen people pointing fingers at me today. I...”
That kind of genuine concern for Leila is also one of the things that makes Ben uncomfortable.
“I won’t let my daughter be pointed at!”
“...There’s nothing I can do.”
“But now you’re telling me that I should care what those idiots point their fingers at me!”
It is said that 90% of what a drunkard says is nonsense, but Aaron was at a loss as to which rhythm to follow.
“Yes, I’m fine. But you have to be careful about Leila being pointed at. And it might be more of a problem later than what people think right now.”
“Later?”
"...I don’t know much about people.”
Ben, who was watching Aaron, who was acting like water on water and alcohol on alcohol, was furious. Then why didn’t you try to seduce my daughter from the beginning? Who are you going to teach when you’re still so young? Ben grumbled and tried to kick him again, but Aaron quickly dodged with a laugh. Thanks to that, Ben, who only kicked in vain, staggered. Annoyingly, Aaron helped Ben up at the perfect time.
“...You pathetic Dublin bastard! Get off my daughter!”
Aaron didn't even answer with empty words. He didn't even laugh.
“If so, then.”
"What!"
“If... I want to be more greedy for your daughter.”
Aaron, who had said that, pursed his lips. Ben was clearly kind to him. He knew that it wasn't his kindness as Leila's partner, but it was true that he had some hope. He knew that saying it out loud would only make his hopes more vain, but he insisted.
“Then, Mr. Ben.”
Ben felt his stomach turn sour and spoke even more fiercely.
“Know how to die. Let go of your mind and just live as if you were dead, and I won’t kick you out.”
It was frustrating to see him always backing away, even though he was trying his best to take Leila's soul every day.
Of course, if he were to take the initiative, Ben's not sure he wouldn't beat him to death.
It was clear that the alcohol had made his brain a mess. Why did he keep looking so pitiful? Ben wondered why he was feeling sorry for the Dublin guy, but it was true. He hated seeing him floating around like oil in the Cask.
“I don’t want to be a nuisance to Mr. Ben and Leila. You must have seen people pointing fingers at me today. I...”
That kind of genuine concern for Leila is also one of the things that makes Ben uncomfortable.
“I won’t let my daughter be pointed at!”
“...There’s nothing I can do.”
“But now you’re telling me that I should care what those idiots point their fingers at me!”
It is said that 90% of what a drunkard says is nonsense, but Aaron was at a loss as to which rhythm to follow.
“Yes, I’m fine. But you have to be careful about Leila being pointed at. And it might be more of a problem later than what people think right now.”
“Later?”
"...I don’t know much about people.”
Ben, who was watching Aaron, who was acting like water on water and alcohol on alcohol, was furious. Then why didn’t you try to seduce my daughter from the beginning? Who are you going to teach when you’re still so young? Ben grumbled and tried to kick him again, but Aaron quickly dodged with a laugh. Thanks to that, Ben, who only kicked in vain, staggered. Annoyingly, Aaron helped Ben up at the perfect time.
“...You pathetic Dublin bastard! Get off my daughter!”
Aaron didn't even answer with empty words. He didn't even laugh.
“If so, then.”
"What!"
“If... I want to be more greedy for your daughter.”
Aaron, who had said that, pursed his lips. Ben was clearly kind to him. He knew that it wasn't his kindness as Leila's partner, but it was true that he had some hope. He knew that saying it out loud would only make his hopes more vain, but he insisted.
“Then, Mr. Ben.”
Ben felt his stomach turn sour and spoke even more fiercely.
“Know how to die. Let go of your mind and just live as if you were dead, and I won’t kick you out.”
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