“It belongs to the Nui species, and distrusts humans. I believe it’s a slave who will be a perfect match for the current Sir Hero.”
T/N: “Nuiヌイ” is just “Inuイヌ” reversed which means Dog.
Hmm… I cross my arms and think. Distrusts humans… huh?
I turn my attention to the Nui brat. He really does look like he doesn’t trust people and seems to hate everything in the world.
What good eyes. You must be feeling the same as me.
“Okay, I’ll take this brat.”
I pointed at the demi-human child with dog-like ears, called the Nui species.
“Its personality is quite problematic, will that be alright?”
“I can discipline him. Isn’t that what the slave crest is for?”
Following my instructions, the slave trader’s subordinates take the Nui brat out of the cage and proceed with registering his slave crest.
“No, stop! Don’t touch me! GRRRR!!!”
I stare intently at the Nui brat, who shows a lot of hostility.
You’ll be suffering a lot more from now on.
“Boy, what’s your name?”
“Like I’d tell you—Ugh…!”
The slave crest emerges, causing the brat to begin groaning.
“K-Keel! It’s Keel! Huff… huff…”
Keel, huh? Well, I don’t care about his name, but I need it when I give orders.
Thus, I went to the weapon shop with the slave, Keel, and bought him a cheap dagger before showing him a balloon that I stuck underneath my cloak.
“Here, stab this and pop it.”
Keel was dumbfounded at first, but as soon as he understood the situation, he stabbed the balloon with the dagger.
With a bang, the balloon bursts.
Hmm… You’re more obedient than I thought.
“The monster… the monster that attacked the village… I did it! I did it!”
He got excited, seemingly lost in the exhilaration of his actions.
He seems to have a combative personality. This might have been a good purchase.
As a reward, I gave him something that looked like a children’s lunch at a set restaurant, and he happily ate it.
Even so, there are times when he throws his displeasure at me, but I don’t care.
—
I noticed that Keel was following a ball made of balloon materials with his eyes.
Does he want it?
Thinking of that, I pointed at the ball and bought one from the material merchant.
“Here.”
I threw the ball I bought to Keel.
“Eh?”
“You don’t want it?”
“No. It’s not like I don’t want it…”
“Then accept it obediently.”
“…”
Perhaps dissatisfied, Keel silently follows me with a strange expression.
After that, we decided to stay at the inn.
“Um, Shield-nii-chan?”
“Call me Master.”
Seriously, I’m not some kind older brother of yours!
But Keel looks at me dissatisfied.
“Have it your way.” I gave up.
“Yeah! Nii-chan!” Wagging his tail like a dog, Keel is holding the ball and his eyes are shining. “Throw me the ball! I’ll get it for you!”
… Is he really a dog?
“Oh, okay, okay. I understand.”
What a hassle. I receive the ball from Keel and throw it out the window from the room. The ball draws an instep and flies down the alley.
“Oh!” Excited, Keel descended the stairs of the inn and chased the bouncing ball.
After that, he got into a fistfight with some kind of delinquent kid and came back in tatters.
What a lively brat.
—
“Here, wipe your body properly.”
I asked the owner of the inn to prepare hot water for Keel, who came back from playing until he became muddy, and decided to wash him.
“Uh… Nii-chan, I’m not dirty!”
“Yeah you are! You’ll get the bed dirty!”
Keel, who seemed aversive about undressing, reluctantly follows my order… and takes off his clothes.
“Okay, I’ll wash you, so just stay still…”
I was at a loss for words when I saw Keel naked…
“What’s wrong Nii-chan?”
—
Damn it Keel, how dare you let me down!
I’m laying on my bed, sulking.
It’s not as if Keel did something wrong. It’s just my fault for misunderstanding.
Never would I have known that Keel would be a brat that’d have the strange idea that the thing which should be there would eventually grow. You know, the thing that primarily grows on the lower half of the body… Just what goes in her mind to think that it’ll grow once she grows up?
“Nii-chan…”
Keel snuggled into my bed without permission.
“Go sleep in another bed”
“Hmm…?”
Is she sleepwalking? Is this a kind of sleepwalking situation unique to children?
“Zzz…”
She completely dozed off.
I turned over and looked at Keel’s sleeping face. There, I saw Keel sleeping, seemingly completely trusting me, as she slept while holding onto the edge of my clothes.
… I thought I could no longer trust anyone but I can’t just reject it after looking at her sleeping so soundly, putting her trust in someone… like me.
“Really…”
For someone who distrusts humans, she’s quite attached to me… what a carefree brat.
Well, it looks like the days of me preparing for the wave will continue.
It helps that Keel is unexpectedly proactive towards contributing in battles.
—
Conclusion: The journey of Naofumi and Keel, both carrying their own traumas, continues on.
