By Zephyria 
Crap.
Aska spent almost all of his time in the Greenhouse these days.
When Kyle woke up in the morning, Aska was often not by his side, and it had been quite a while since he had eaten meals in their room. Kyle wished Aska would at least sleep in their room, but he couldn’t break his stubbornness, not knowing who he took after.
“Isn’t this an acorn?”
“I picked it up on the way.”
“Where?”
“Under a tree.”
Why did Aska keep picking things up like this? The most absurd thing was that he had even brought the gift he had given Kyle on his birthday here without saying a word.
Kyle had collected trinkets in a glass bottle, cast magic on it to prevent it from breaking, and placed it by their bedside.
“Are you going to stay here all the time?”
Aska didn’t answer. He was kneeling on the dirt floor without shoes, diligently burying something. Kyle couldn’t figure out what he was doing. His legs and arms were all covered in dirt.
“I’m leaving?”
Kyle said again as he stood up, but there was still no answer.
There were times when Kyle would just go out and come back, and Aska would throw a fit, getting angry that Kyle had gone out to play alone… Maybe giving him the Greenhouse wasn’t such a good idea? Why did Kyle feel like he was being ignored so much?
He felt bitter, but he was still glad that Aska seemed to be having fun. As Kyle trudged towards the exit, he suddenly noticed a familiar piece of clothing near the entrance of the Greenhouse.
He picked it up and realized it was the clothes he had worn yesterday. Why did Aska bring this here too? Looking closer, there were even shoes in the corner. There were also a few books, and at first, Kyle didn’t know what they were, but upon closer inspection, he found bath products.
“What is all this?”
Was Aska planning to wash in the swimming pool? No, that wasn’t a bathtub…
“Hey! Don’t touch that! I haven’t organized it yet!”
As Kyle was staring at the moisturizer he applied after washing, he heard Aska’s voice from behind. He turned his head, but Aska was hidden by the trees and couldn’t be seen.
“I’m leaving?”
Just in case, Kyle said it again, but no answer came. Was Aska really treating him like he didn’t exist? Only saying what he wanted to say and not responding to Kyle? Fine, Kyle would leave.
Kyle left the Greenhouse without saying another word. But he didn’t know where to go.
“…”
What did Kyle usually do at this time when Aska wasn’t around?
Should he read a book? He had been meaning to look through the Forbidden book soon… But he wasn’t in the mood for reading right now.
Should he swing his sword for a change? No, that was too much of a hassle… Should he just sleep? No, he wasn’t sleepy. Should he eat something? He wasn’t hungry either. Should he go out? Should he go out and wander around? No, what would he do just wandering around aimlessly? And he had gone out with Aska a few days ago, so he didn’t really feel like it.
“…”
He pondered for a long time, but nothing came to mind.
Should he go to the Harem for the first time in a while? He had sent a doctor there recently, so he needed to see Fatima anyway. Aska had been vehemently opposed to him meeting other people, so he had been putting it off, but this was a good opportunity.
First, he couldn’t go looking like he had just woken up, so he should change his clothes.
With a destination in mind, he moved quickly. But he ran into Mahir before he had gone far.
“Brother.”
Mahir smiled as he spotted Kyle waving at him from afar.
“Where are you coming from so early? Isn’t this the time you’re usually asleep?”
“I recently built a Greenhouse, so I went there for a bit. What brings you here at this hour, brother?”
“I just came to see your face.”
It was true that Mahir was kind, but he wasn’t the type to abandon his work and come to see his younger brother’s face so early in the morning.
Since he wouldn’t have come without a purpose, Kyle went inside with Mahir.
As soon as simple tea and snacks were prepared, Mahir asked,
“When are you going to give me a tour of the Greenhouse?”
Kyle almost spat out the tea he was drinking. Mahir tilted his head at Kyle’s strange behavior.
“What’s wrong?”
“No… Not just anyone can go in there…”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason. A monkey is guarding it…”
Kyle imagined Aska throwing stones from afar at Mahir entering the Greenhouse. Just imagining it made his head spin.
“What monkey all of a sudden? Is it a new pet you’re raising? Should I try to get close by giving it bananas?”
Kyle was speechless looking at Mahir smiling. It was difficult to explain, so he just smiled along.
“More importantly, are you still going around without Almas?”
Kyle was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question. He put down the teacup he was holding and asked,
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“You should at least carry a sword when you go around without a bodyguard.”
“…”
Kyle stared at Mahir and then turned his gaze to his escort knight waiting at the door. He wondered why Mahir had brought a knight with him, but it seemed he was going to nag him to hire a bodyguard again.
“I heard you suffered an Internal injury recently.”
“How did you know that?”
“How would I know? I was getting a checkup last night, and your name came up.”
Kyle had gone to see a doctor and Wizard because of an Internal injury a while ago, and it seemed Mahir had heard about it.
“It was nothing.”
Even as he said it, Kyle felt guilty and couldn’t meet Mahir’s eyes. He had vomited that much blood, and according to Aska, his heart had even stopped for a moment.
“Why did you suddenly suffer an Internal injury? Was it because of magic? I told you not to use magic often. More importantly, why would you need to use magic to the point of suffering an Internal injury? You can’t even use Household magic anyway.”
“…”
Kyle closed his mouth at the long string of words. Why were there so many people nagging him lately? Still, it didn’t feel too bad since it had been a while.
“I heard you’ve been going out often lately.”
“You said you wouldn’t care anymore.”
Mahir frowned at Kyle’s small grumble.
“Not caring means I won’t interfere in your affairs, not that I’m giving up on you.”
“…”
“Did that happen when you were out? You didn’t have a bodyguard or a sword, so you had no choice but to use magic when something happened. Am I wrong? Tell me if I’m wrong.”
That’s not it…
But Kyle couldn’t explain the whole story, so he decided to go with that. When Kyle didn’t say anything, Mahir sighed and gestured to his escort. The escort knight politely handed Mahir the sword he had been holding.
“What’s this?”
“It may not be as good as your sword, but it’s decent enough. Carry it with you from now on. Especially when you go out.”
“…”
Was this why Mahir had come all the way here? He must be busy, but Kyle felt like he had worried him for nothing, so he accepted the sword without complaint. He stood up, drew the sword from its scabbard, and swung it a few times in the air, creating a pleasant whistling sound.
The weight was just right, and the balance was good. Even with a rough swing, it was clear that it was a good sword made by a great craftsman.
“Why don’t you ever carry Almas? Where is there a sword as good as that?”
Mahir sighed again. Kyle handed the sword he was holding to the escort knight and said,
“That one is too cold…”
Crash-!
That was when it happened.
At the same time as the sound of the window connected to the terrace shattering, something quickly invaded the room. The escort knight, who had already reacted, drew the sword from his waist and stood in front of them.
Mahir, who had been sitting, also stood up from the sofa and grabbed Kyle’s arm. Kyle also picked up the sword that had fallen on the floor and tried to respond, but his mind went blank at the sight of the face visible through the shards of glass scattering in all directions.
Kyle shook off Mahir’s hand, passed the escort knight, and jumped forward.
“Kyle!”
Mahir’s sharp voice was heard from behind, but Kyle couldn’t stop. He hurriedly hid Aska behind him and warned the escort knight.
“Get out of the way.”
But in a situation where an unidentified assailant had invaded, there was no way the escort knight would lower his sword. Still, he must have sensed that Kyle’s behavior was strange, as a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.
Mahir was also just as bewildered. And so was Kyle…
He had hidden Aska behind him for now, but he had no idea what was going on. Why had Aska, who had been burying something in the ground in the Greenhouse, suddenly broken the window and come inside?
He couldn’t think of any words to explain this situation, so he just swallowed his breath. He felt a tug on his clothes from behind. He glanced back with a cold sweat, and saw that Aska was just as flustered, with a pale face and anxiously shaking eyes.
Aska opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he wanted to make excuses, and then slowly began to shove his head into Kyle’s clothes.
“…”
Was he hiding? It was an absurd thing to do, but Kyle couldn’t think of a better way. In the end, he hugged Aska, who had put his entire head inside his clothes, with both arms to hide the rest of his body.