A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Reckless Aristocrat

Foundation (5)

“I’ll be going now.”

The boy nodded indifferently and took a step.

Alan stood there, stunned.

His golden pupils held the retreating back of the black-haired figure, moving further away with each step.

A cool breeze flowed between the two of them.

Against a backdrop that hinted at the coming dawn, Alan was forced to stand there, frozen for a while.

‘…Why?’

A single word that couldn’t quite escape his throat, caught and stuck there.

Alan was lost in the repetition of that question.

The direction that the blunt, protruding question mark was pointing was, of course, where Raiden was standing.

It didn’t make sense.

He’d clearly been sprawled out on the ground, so he’d thought he would get kicked around a few times at least.

But Raiden hadn’t done that.

-Just what are you doing.

Instead, Raiden had sighed as if he were pathetic, and helped him to his feet.

He had grabbed him by the collar, yes.

But it wasn’t a rough touch.

The boy steadily supported Alan, even waiting until his stumbling legs could stand properly.

-You look like a beggar.

He even brushed the dust off of his outer coat with his own hands.

It was completely unexpected kindness.

And, kindness that Alan didn’t deserve to receive.

Alan bit down hard on his lip.

Faded gold eyes stared at the street, now empty save for him, the boy gone.

“……”

Alan bit down hard on his lip.

A sharp sting faded, replaced by the crushing weight of reality.

Honestly, he couldn’t grasp what the hell had happened.

He’d deserved to be beaten to a pulp, no arguments there. Hell, he’d have stood still and let a blade be drawn, if that’s what it came to.

Raiden had the right.

As much as he’d hurt him.

He figured Raiden had the right to hurt him back.

He’d pushed a man teetering on the edge, so a punishment steeped in hatred was due.

-Get your head on straight.

But then.

Why?

-If you want to protect something, then don’t waver… Standing there dumbly might just lose you even more.

The boy didn’t blame him, didn’t curse him. Didn’t unleash a revenge-fueled violence.

Instead, he’d helped him up from the dirt.

Tossed out words that sounded like encouragement, carelessly.

The tone was sharp, yet there was something there.

The warmth in his voice.

Like he was speaking to an old friend, the words laced with a tender familiarity.

Raiden seemed to be trying to act cold, putting on a facade.

But the ill-fitting mask just felt alien.

“Why… why, you…”

Raiden had always tried to be friendly.

Every time something happened, he’d rushed to help, and even though he didn’t say it, he held a desire to get closer.

Up until now, he’d been too foolishly guarded to notice.

But now he knew.

Having stepped into the depths of Raiden’s inner world.

The boy had never once been hostile, never hated Alan.

To Raiden, Alan had been someone to admire.

The fairy tale I read as a child. I was thinking of Alan like one of the radiant heroes who appeared in it.

It was an infinitely pure heart.

That fact only made Alan feel more guilty.

“Why… why do you look at someone like me with such eyes?”

There was a time when he was filled with arrogant sentiment.

Having suddenly been born with the fate to save the world, having learned that he was the hero of this generation.

It was as if he had become someone special.

But reality was cruel.

Danger was closing in around him, chaos was pouring down, but he couldn’t do anything.

Even the close friend he was supposed to be with, he had buried in the ground.

Only then did Alan realize.

That he was nothing but a useless cripple.

He wasn’t a hero, but a kid intoxicated with heroism.

“Why… why are you encouraging me like that…”

This wasn’t it.

The future he had dreamed of when he was first chosen as the hero, this wasn’t it.

He wanted to protect the weak.

He wanted to realize justice.

And then, he wanted to shine warmly in the world he had saved.

Alan had to feel a terrible sense of disconnect between reality and his ideals.

The reflection in the mirror he briefly saw resembled the kind of human he had loathed so much.

“I don’t know…”

His mumbling words break faintly along with the dawn.

A hero, a chosen one.

The boy who had been given such a destiny stood beneath the star-lit darkness.

Pondering his own existence once more.

*

After finishing a day that felt particularly long, when he returned to the dorm, the sky had already turned to night.

The clock that briefly caught his eye was pointing at 11 o’clock.

I thought I’d be getting a lecture from the dorm supervisor for being so late, but thankfully, they were letting things slide.

Probably because it was the day of the memorial service.

I was glad to not get held up for no reason.

I replayed my bland thoughts, and opened the front door that had been closed.

-Click, creak…

Behind the slowly opening background, a girl comes into view.

As if she’d been waiting for me, she was hovering near the entrance, peeking around.

“Rachel.”

“Young Master!”

“I’m back.”

“You’re a little late. Did you have dinner?”

“Just grabbed something.”

“You always say that~? What if you get sick!”

Rachel puffed out her cheeks, gesturing dramatically.

Her brown eyes formed gentle arcs.

The girl’s figure, warmly welcoming me after a grueling day, forced a faint smile onto my face.

“Since it’s late… you’re going to sleep, right?”

“I guess so. I want to wash up a bit first.”

“Then I’ll prepare your pajamas while you’re in the bathroom.”

“Thanks.”

After being outside all day, it wouldn’t do to just flop onto the bed.

If the covers got dirty, Rachel would have to struggle with them again.

I rinsed the day’s grime off myself under lukewarm water.

And after my shower, when I stepped out of the bathroom,

there was a neatly folded set of pajamas laid at my feet.

I changed into them and made my way to the darkened bedroom.

-Thump…

Unable to overcome the deep exhaustion swirling within me, I immediately threw myself onto the bed.

The bed sank with a soft whoosh the moment I landed.

I savored the plush texture and pulled the covers close.

Was it the deep fatigue, that made sighs keep escaping my lips?

“Haaa…”

It was a fiercely spent day.

Memorial service, speech, Master… and finally, even Alan.

Could a single day possibly be this packed? The question arose without me even trying.

A faint headache was gnawing at my head.

Should I take a Deathbloom? The thought flickered, but I dismissed it.

If I didn’t break it now, I’d be stuck with it forever.

Ignoring the creeping withdrawal symptoms and holding my breath, a tender voice suddenly reached my ear.

“Young master.”

Turning my head, I saw brown hair come into view.

Rachel, changed from her maid’s uniform into her pajamas.

The soft color of her pajamas exuded a unique, refreshing atmosphere.

Even though the clothes were a bit loose, her graceful curves were visible in places.

“You must be tired?”

“Yeah…”

“You worked hard today.”

“You too, Ray…”

“I just stayed by your side.”

“……”

Did Rachel know?

How much strength I gained just from that?

I tucked away a faint smile that was spreading and reached my hand out to Rachel, who was standing beside me.

“Will you lie down next to me?”

“……Huh?”

Rachel made a dazed sound, as if she was flustered.

At her rare, spaced-out expression, I chuckled and gestured.

“I’m just tired… stay beside me for a bit. Just for a little while is fine.”

I was in a mood to need someone’s warmth.

And I had been in the habit of playfully hugging Rachel anyway, so this much should be okay, shouldn’t it?

It’s not my place to force you if you’re unwilling.

I briefly worried about that, but it was needless, as expected.

Rachel hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

Her cheeks were flushed red for some reason, though.

“…If it’s something Master wishes, I’ll do anything.”

Rachel carefully lay down on the bed.

Unlike her usual self, overflowing with composure, she was stiff as a board.

Her reaction was amusing, but it wasn’t a situation I could simply enjoy.

Lying next to Rachel like this, I felt a strange awkwardness.

Belatedly, the thought that I might have been mistaken crossed my mind.

But having already brought Rachel here, I couldn’t just tell her to leave.

‘I just… shouldn’t have any weird thoughts, right?’

I tried hard to push away the embarrassing thoughts.

The bed was spacious enough for two people, and it wasn’t particularly uncomfortable.

Especially since Rachel wasn’t thinking anything at all, it would be embarrassing if I was the only one feeling bashful.

I just needed to stick to my original purpose.

From the start, I just needed someone’s warmth, so I just had to act as I usually would.

-Rustle…

I reached my arm towards the girl lying beside me.

And then, as if capturing her within my arms, I pulled her slender body close.

“Hnn…”

Rachel flinched her shoulders, perhaps from surprise, but quickly regained her composure.

I quietly closed my eyelids.

Even with my vision gone, I could clearly feel Rachel.

The warm body heat emanating from my arms.

The sweet scent of peach brushing my nose.

The soft skin yielding as she lay there calmly.

With the satisfaction all of those things brought, I felt my weary heart slowly begin to unwind.

“I’m always grateful… Rachel.”

“…I told you, didn’t I? I’m always on your side, Master.”

“Still…”

“Please, get some rest. You’re very tired.”

“Yeah… I am…”

Rachel patted my back with a quiet whisper.

She was still trembling, but even in that state, she tried to look after me – that was just like her.

“Please sleep comfortably. I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep, young master.”

“Am I being too much of a bother…?”

“I’m doing it because I want to.”

“A lie…”

“It’s true. I like you much more than you think, young master.”

“That’s a lie too…”

But it was nice to hear.

A smile slipped out unconsciously.

Even as my heart thumped loudly, my consciousness grew increasingly faint.

I held the warmth in my arms dear.

The deepening dawn, followed by the deepening darkness.

Submerged in that pitch-black, I let go of my consciousness.

For the first time in a long time.

It was a night of sleep without any distractions.