By Zephyria 
A strange sense of déjà vu struck me.
The God of Oasis called me by my past life’s name and sought me out. Then, he handed me fragments of my past life’s memories and soul, and then he was gone, off to his own path.
The Sun God called me an outsider. He told me the whereabouts of the black magician and asked me to harm the Ninth God. Even after that, he consistently looked after the children and did his best in his own way.
This one, however, called me an outsider yet knew my current life’s name. The Sun God had once said that only someone like the God of Records would know all the names of humans.
So, is this one also a god? The God of Records and Lakes, Gano Paquin?
But then, it’s strange again.
If he intended to give me answers, he would surely know that he shouldn’t have harmed Ruben.
The chains that attacked Ruben were thoroughly soaked in contaminated mana. If the God of Records truly intended to help me, then it might not have been the God of Records who attacked Ruben, but the Ninth one. If that were the case…
My mind was a mess with all sorts of thoughts.
Ruben, who had been pondering, let out a deep sigh.
“Just because he calls… I can’t go right away.”
“Ah, of course!”
Marianne agreed vehemently, raising her staff and shaking it left and right.
It had only been two days since Ivan had left.
Ivan, who had left to set up lodging in Cambio and go to Centrum to procure food, wouldn’t have even reached Cambio yet. It was around the same time that Felix had been sent to Ranunculus, so Hugh Benson would only have received contact today.
Furthermore, they hadn’t found out anything about why Aries Dolo was still lingering in Bivan Capital. No one in the party wanted to accidentally release the Seal of the Lake and annihilate the citizens of another country, so they couldn’t leave Capital Viper at the moment.
There was a more critical reason.
Ruben had not yet fully recovered from his bed. How could I turn my attention to other matters while leaving behind a child who would suffer every night for the next two weeks? I couldn’t leave a child in poor health to the care of others.
The proper order of things would be to at least watch Ruben recover, comfort him as much as I could, and then, after confirming there were no suspicious individuals among the Knights encountered in Cambio, attend to other matters. Calculating the dates, I asked,
“When will the Knights from Felix arrive?”
“Probably… it will take two weeks.”
“…Is it that far?”
“The distance itself isn’t that far… but it’s a group of about fifty armed individuals. They have to pass through dozens of villages, including the capital, on their way from Felix to Cambio, so they must travel slowly to avoid posing a threat to the kingdom’s citizens.”
Upon hearing Ruben’s explanation, Samantha bit her lower lip hard. Bailey Barton glanced at her face before looking away. Since Rubel hadn’t urgently summoned him, Hugh Benson would prepare to come to Bivan after cleaning up the mess he had made. The more messes he made, the more time it would take.
Regardless of whether she was displeased or not, Ruben declared firmly and clearly.
“We will spend another ten days at this inn and then depart for Cambio. During those ten days, Miss Philodendore, Mage Boulder, Lord Barton, and Lord Claudian will survey Viper and collect as much information as possible regarding the strange phenomena in Bivan Capital.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Ruben also commanded Samantha, as if making a request.
“Lord Andrei, please contact the Bivan branch of the Nobility Almanac Management and Inspection Department. Ask them to compile the trends in Bivan over the past six years in the specified table format and provide it within three days. Please emphasize that particular attention should be paid to the movements of those who have visited the royal palace this year.”
“Yes.”
Ruben said nothing to me.
However, I knew best what I needed to do. To protect Ruben by his side until things settled down and to help him recover. That was the best I could do and what I wanted to do.
I gathered the stone quill pens and open ink bottles that had fallen to the floor, scattered by the mages.
Everyone found their tasks and left the room.
I stood by the door, seeing them off until they had all departed, then closed it. After checking the lock several times, Ruben, who was leaning back on the bed, looked at me with expectant eyes, a shy expression on his face.
But this time, I wasn’t going to kiss him.
“Massages are good, but…”
“…Hm?”
“We need to start with rehabilitation exercises. I’ll support your back, so let’s start with shoulder exercises slowly.”
I need to get better quickly. I have to leave on a long journey soon, and it would be terrible if I had lingering effects.
Ruben’s cheeks turned pale. I suppressed the urge to bite his pitiful cheeks.
❖ ❖ ❖
While Bailey Barton and the mages moved around, escorting them, Samantha Andrei patrolled the area in front of the inn on the first floor, observing those who came and went. She was also responsible for contacting the Nobility Almanac informants and conveying Ruben’s intentions.
Meanwhile, Ruben and I took full advantage of the spacious room on the top floor of the inn.
All exercise begins with breathing.
I placed my palm on the center of Ruben’s back, maintaining a proper posture, and had him alternate between chest and abdominal breathing. Simply walking around the room in that state, I could visually confirm that Ruben’s posture was straightening.
I consistently massaged the muscles in his shoulder blades, which Ruben found particularly painful, to prevent spasms, and slowly pulled or pushed his arms and shoulders until their range of motion returned to normal.
When Ruben leaned against the wall to do push-ups, I placed my hand on his lower back to support him so he wouldn’t fall, and when he did push-ups on the floor, I placed my hand near his Dantian and supported him to move with appropriate force.
Ruben was very ticklish. He was so embarrassed by my hands touching his stomach that he refused several times, overexerting himself unnecessarily. After preventing him from toppling over several times when his arms lost strength, I let him do as he pleased.
Then, when Ruben collapsed, unable to continue, it was my job to carefully move him onto the bed and use a Clean Artifact. Each time, Ruben would glare at me sulkily before breaking into a radiant smile.
We agreed that massages would be given before he slept, as touching him right after exercise made him very uncomfortable. Once the massage was finished, Ruben would burrow into my arms to sleep.
He suffered more when he was unconscious than when he was conscious. When that happened, stroking his back gently with my warm hands would quiet his groans and make him calm. Thanks to that, I developed a habit of falling asleep while lying Ruben on top of me, slowly massaging his shoulder blades and lower back.
There was another strange and regrettable matter.
Since our last encounter, Ruben had never once asked me to kiss him.
My previous worry that the child might pester me for kisses constantly was in vain. Where or with whom had I ever kissed before? Even if I liked it, he might have disliked it. Was my skill so lacking? I couldn’t ask him directly, so I suffered inwardly.
There were said to be various methods for kissing, and I felt I could do better if given another chance, but then I thought my current state of plotting such things while he was sick made me seem like a beast, pathetic. I lost sleep for days.
Sunday morning of the second week of March.
Around this time, I also took on the task of going downstairs to prepare Ruben’s three meals.
Although I felt embarrassed that the workers might see something awkward as they came and went, the biggest reason was that I had become vigilant about any unfamiliar individuals approaching Ruben. I had already become familiar with the faces of the laborers, but I kept my distance from them, not interacting much.
As usual, I went down to prepare meals and ran into Samantha Andrei.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, did you sleep well?”
I returned her greeting with a nod. After a moment of hesitation, I joined Samantha at the table where she was sitting. While the workers who recognized my face prepared the meal, I thought there was no need for us, as fellow party members, to sit awkwardly apart.
It felt like a strange sense of déjà vu, and I remembered having a similar experience with Hugh Benson before. What had we talked about then…
Samantha opened her mouth.
“Um, Lord Ernhardt… you are in a romantic relationship with His Highness, aren’t you?”
“…That.”
“…?”
“….”
“….”
“…Yes.”
Come to think of it, I still hadn’t discussed that with Ruben. It was as if someone had thrown a watermelon at my head, and I snapped back to reality.
Did Ruben also think we were lovers now?
Or perhaps he thought I was a scoundrel only after his body.
It was natural that the child no longer pestered me for kisses. We weren’t… we shouldn’t be in that kind of relationship yet. I was truly insane. Where was my mind wandering?
Samantha Andrei gave an awkward smile, and I smiled back. …No, did I just smile?
I felt an urge to run away somewhere, but the meal hadn’t arrived yet, so I couldn’t leave. Seizing the opportunity, I asked,
“What about you, Lord Andrei…?”
“…Yes? Are you asking me?”
“Mages tend to marry late, but… it’s common for Knights to marry early, isn’t it?”
Besides, if he was the same age as Hugh Benson, this fellow was already nearing thirty. Considering that most of Sierren’s Knights married in their early twenties, it wasn’t an age where having a husband would be strange.
Samantha shrugged with the same awkward smile.
“Well…”
What kind of answer is that? It’s normal to say yes if you do, and no if you don’t.
Perhaps she still hadn’t forgotten Hugh Benson? But no matter how I tried to bring it up, it would be rude. Moreover, Samantha Andrei didn’t even know that I knew about her past confession.
I just stayed quiet, and when the workers called out to me, I took the tray.
“In any case… please take care of me today as well.”
“Yes. Lord Ernhardt, you have a good day too.”
It doesn’t matter who that fellow meets. How should I ask Ruben to be my lover? Just thinking about it made my heart pound, and climbing the stairs to the third floor felt like climbing a volcanic cliff, leaving me breathless.