R302 | Chapter 10

Licht was fast asleep, hugging the cat doll Ain had given him as a reward for a quest. The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, meaning it was still time to sleep. But…

Thud, thud, a faint knocking on the door echoed.

“Ugh…”

Licht groaned and turned to the other side. The sleep was so sweet that he desperately tried to ignore the noise. But…

“Licht, Licht!”

When someone outside started calling his name, he couldn’t help but get up. Licht sluggishly opened the door. Standing there was Ain, with a couple of his shirt buttons undone, looking a bit carefree.

“Licht.”

“…Ain?”

“Time to get up. It’s almost 5.”

“Yeah…”

Still very sleepy, Licht nodded, remembering the promise he made yesterday. He dragged himself to the bathroom, and only after washing his face with cold water did he feel a bit more awake.

Now with steady steps, Licht went to the wardrobe, picked out one of the similar-looking clothes, and quickly changed out of his pajamas.

Bang! The door slammed shut, startling Licht. It seemed Ain had closed it after seeing him change. He wasn’t sure why it was closed so forcefully, though…

‘Was it the wind?’

There was a window near the room at the edge of the hallway. Thinking he should close it if it was the wind, Licht finished changing.

When he went outside, Ain was standing there with a frown. Licht glanced at the window. Did Ain close that too? The window was shut.

“How can you change clothes with the door open?”

“It was just you, Ain.”

“Still, you should be careful.”

“Careful of what?”

“……”

Ain was at a rare loss for words.

Ain sighed deeply. How could someone be so unaware of their own appearance? Even Ain, who had seen countless beauties at the castle, had never seen anyone prettier than Licht.

He was flustered. Seeing Licht undress with such a beautiful figure was quite a sight. Of course, he swore to the heavens that he would never do anything inappropriate to Licht, but the visual shock was undeniable.

“Stripping in front of others isn’t polite.”

“What’s the big deal between guys?”

He had a point. Ain wasn’t usually shy around the same gender. He’d even seen Maser completely naked before (a dreadful memory from ten years ago when they were crammed into the same room), and even the prim Bjorn didn’t mind going shirtless outside the castle.

But that was for the rough guys, and Licht didn’t fit that category.

“You’re still a kid. There are lots of guests at the inn you don’t know well. There might be dangerous people, so you shouldn’t just strip carelessly. Take care of yourself.”

“I’m not a kid.”

Ignoring the advice, Licht focused on something strange. Ain grabbed Licht’s cheeks with both hands and stretched them. They were soft and felt nice.

“Yeah, really? Not a kid, huh? Then maybe you’re a baby.”

“Don’t tease me!”

Licht hit Ain. Even with all his might, it was barely a tickle, and he was hitting softly, worried Ain might actually get hurt. Ain found Licht utterly adorable and insignificant.

‘I want to bite him…’

They say seeing something too cute can trigger violent urges. Was this that feeling? Instead of acting on it, Ain hugged Licht tightly. The child trapped in his arms squirmed. Licht smelled like wildflowers carried by the wind.

After enjoying Licht enough, Ain let him go. Licht’s eyes were sharp.

“Ain, you idiot…”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go to the backyard now.”

Ain quickly escaped the unfavorable situation and headed to the backyard. Licht, whose eyes had softened again, looked around.

“Why are we in the backyard?”

Since it was still dark, the lamp Ain brought illuminated the surroundings. Instead of answering, Ain picked up something next to the lamp and handed it to Licht. It was a well-polished wooden sword.

“What’s this for?”

“I’m going to teach you some swordsmanship.”

“Swordsmanship?”

“Yeah. You might need it in a dangerous situation.”

Licht stared blankly at the wooden sword in his hand. It didn’t seem like there would be any danger… But since he promised to grant a wish anyway, learning couldn’t hurt.

“Okay. But I don’t know anything about swordsmanship.”

“Don’t worry, hyung will teach you well.”

Licht didn’t worry about Ain’s skills. Ten years ago, Ain and his companions solved several incidents in the village. Licht didn’t remember clearly since he was young, but he heard the village elders talk about it for quite a while. They said a seventeen-year-old boy had incredible skills.

Now, ten years later, Ain was twenty-seven. He must have gotten stronger over the years. Thinking that far, Licht felt a sense of pride. He gripped the sword with renewed enthusiasm.

“Do I hold it like this?”

“Loosen up a bit, like this… Yeah, keep your back straight. Spread your legs a bit more… like this, yeah. Now try again.”

Ain checked Licht’s posture a few times and nodded in satisfaction. Then he taught him how to swing vertically and horizontally, and how to thrust, looking very pleased.

“Your posture is good.”

“Really?”

“Now, stand there and attack me.”

“…Huh?”

“I taught you how to attack.”

Ain picked up another wooden sword he had set aside and stood loosely. Licht was at a loss, very flustered.

“What if I hit you and you get hurt?”

“Huh? Do you think this hyung will get hit by you?”

“You might.”

“No, no, I won’t. If I do, I’ll quit and get a job here as an employee.”

“We’re not hiring more staff.”

“That’s harsh. You won’t hire Ain?”

Ain acted all cute. Licht calculated in his head with a slightly reluctant face. How much would it cost to hire one more person?

“…Okay, I’ll hire you. Even if the net profit decreases.”

“Licht, you’ve become a calculating adult. I was worried you’d get scammed, but you’ve grown well. Hyung is proud.”

“……”

“It’s a compliment.”

Licht looked at Ain with a skeptical face. Ain grinned and nodded.

“Enough talk, attack already. Don’t worry, you won’t hit me. Hyung is roughly 5821 Bjorns, you know?”

“What’s 5821 Bjorns?”

“It means it’d take about 5821 Bjorns to be on par with me.”

It was a number that greatly underestimated Bjorn.

“That’s harsh.”

“I’m actually giving Bjorn a lot of credit.”

“…I’ll tell on you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can tell later. Go ahead.”

Licht, who had been hesitating, gripped the sword tightly. Seeing the surroundings slowly brighten, there was no time to dawdle.

Licht swung the sword at Ain. Naturally, Ain easily dodged to the side.

“Keep going. Are you already out of energy?”

At Ain’s words, Licht swung the wooden sword again. This time too, Ain dodged effortlessly. Thanks to Ain’s constant urging, Licht swung the sword without rest. Of course, Ain dodged them all.

By the time the sun rose, Licht was exhausted and out of breath.

“…Why are you so weak, our Licht?”

“Ain is… huff, strong… huff…”

“No, no, not that. Your stamina is weak. Doesn’t working at the inn build stamina?”

“I have good stamina!”

Licht retorted. Of course, swinging a sword nonstop with all his might would tire anyone! But Ain didn’t seem to understand at all.

“Yeah, okay. Licht has good stamina.”

“It’s true!”

“Yeah, yeah, stamina king Licht. Since you’re tired, let’s stop the attacks here.”

“I can do more!”

“No, we have something else to do.”

…Something else? Even now, it was exhausting.

Ain stifled a laugh as he looked at Licht, who was staring at him with pitiful eyes. It was unfortunate, but there was no helping it. Licht was so pretty and innocent that Ain felt he had to teach him the basics to feel at ease.

“You can put the sword down. We’re done with the attacks.”

“……”

“Now I’m going to attack.”

“…What?”

Licht’s face, which had brightened, quickly turned pale. Ain adjusted his grip on the sword, which he had been holding loosely until now.

“Alright, hyung is coming?”

Ain swung the sword with a lackluster sound. He tried to hold back as much as possible, but for an ordinary person like Licht, it was a terrifying speed and force. Seeing the sword coming down from above, Licht closed his eyes tightly.

“……”

The expected pain didn’t follow. He slowly lifted his eyelids and rolled his eyes, seeing the sword stopped above his head.

“No, no, Licht. You can’t close your eyes. Even if you’re going to get hit, keep watching.”

“Why should I keep watching if I’m going to get hit anyway?”

“Well, this is practice, so you won’t get hit. In a real situation, you have a better chance of dodging if you keep watching.”

“Ah.”

Licht nodded obediently, understanding. Ain withdrew the sword and took two steps back.

“Licht, don’t be too scared. You won’t get hit. I’ll stop before it hits, so don’t be scared and watch carefully. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

“But I’ll count the times you don’t dodge. It’s already one.”

“…Why are you counting?”

The thought that there was nothing good about counting suddenly struck him. Licht’s question made Ain grin.

“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you right away. I’ll tell you later.”

“…I want to know now.”

“Alright, hyung is going again?”

Ain ignored Licht’s words and swung the sword again. The sword coming from the side was terrifying. Licht tried hard not to close his eyes, but… that effort was only half successful. Ain counted as he watched Licht squint with one eye.

“Two.”

Ain retrieved the sword and moved it slowly, then thrust it forward.

“Three.”

The numbers rose cheerfully. Licht couldn’t dodge even once. Each time, the sword stopped precisely five centimeters from Licht.