Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

[Note] This chapter is not marked as NSFW, but there are some suggestive scenes in the middle. Please be cautious of whoever’s behind you as you read.

Why is spring such a busy season?

Every year… I always feel tired once spring comes.

I wonder why.

The guys around me always get to relax and enjoy this peaceful break before work begins again. And then the cheerful spring mood will tempt them to go outside and bask in it…

But for some reason, I’m always too busy.

…Well, to be exact, some of those guys are also busy working with me.

Snowfall, the first in more than ten years, has happened twice this year. And from the second time onward, the snow is really starting to pile up. As a result, the villages and towns are now rushing to have their roofs repaired.

Now, when Cheddar-san and I go from door to door to deliver milk, the customers always talk about the state of their roofs. Both of us try to smoothly change the topic, but they always pull the conversation back to that topic.

To make things even worse, the repairmen don’t have enough manpower. With their packed workload, it’s very hard to ask for their help, causing the villagers to feel very troubled about the possibility of a leaking ceiling… Then they start to complain that the rain will ruin their house and things, which means the products they bought from us will also become spoiled.

They even say it’s not the right time to talk about business with the current circumstances. They’re implicitly pressuring us to offer them help, and it’s not like there’s anything else we can do at that point… Before we know it, we’re already entangled in this mess.

And now, Cheddar-san and I are running around repairing roofs here and there, juggling both repair work and ranch work.

I tried approaching the construction site where I once worked part-time to ask for help… But the situation there is similar to ours. No, theirs may be worse than ours.

The boom in house construction orders during spring has overlapped with the boom in roof repairs. Even though I don’t work there anymore, I still sympathize with their bad luck.

Once the boss saw me, he ran toward me with bloodshot eyes and grabbed my shoulders in a desperate manner. I still remember what he said in between ragged breaths. “You came at just the right time!” Shocked, I immediately told him that I only came to greet him a Happy New Year before deciding to run away—I mean, deciding to leave.

I can hear him shouting, “Wait, you brat! Do you want to leave us to die?!” But if I take on more jobs, I’ll be the one dying instead. Please leave me alone.

Despite this, I can’t go on a picnic with Lian once again because I have too much work.

I have to repair the house of Cheddar-san’s wife’s parents in three days. Which is exactly when they’re having the picnic. This is really bad timing. It seems that their roof and ceiling boards have been rotting and weakening for a long time. Now that they finally caved in, thus creating a hole in them, they go ask for our help… And I have no choice but to go.

Because of that, even though I finally got invited this year, I had to decline. Unable to digest this gloomy feeling, I can only spend my days swinging my hammer.

The other day, Efa tells me, “The pancakes Lian-sama made were so fluffy, sweet, and delicious! Its soft taste is very similar to my mother’s home-cooked pancakes… We also had fluffy fried egg sandwiches…” She looks really excited.

That’s really nice. The food Lian makes is very tasty.

“We ate until we’re full, and then everyone stuck together and took a nap! Lian-sama was probably sleepy. The kids slept on his lap, while I slept next to him. He even patted my head…” Efa continues,touching her cheeks and appearing both embarrassed and happy… Wait. What did she say?

What the heck is that? Hey. Something like this happened before, right? I mean, stop lending your lap to others as a pillow, I’m really jealous… Ughh.

…I’m not angry just because of the lap pillow. I don’t care… Don’t care at all!

After all, he’s let me take a nap on his lap several times before. He’s also stroked my head many times before. And nowadays, he even lets me do even more than that. I can touch him a lot now.

When I push him down to the bed, there are times when he gets angry and his face flushes bright red… Well, he gets embarrassed so easily that I don’t think anyone can beat him in that area… Sometimes, he hits my head in protest, but… most of the time, he lets me do it.

He also tells me that he likes me.

And whenever we’re doing it, he would tell me he loves me.

Just how happy was I when I heard those words? I was so happy that my head seemed to be spinning at that moment.

I want him to say it as often as he can, but he’s a very shy guy… Even though I know that, I feel somewhat sad that he rarely tells me those words. But at least now, when I bring my face closer to his, his face will redden, and he will close his eyes and let me kiss him.

…Though only when there aren’t any people around.

Whenever I hold his hand, his cheeks redden and he looks embarrassed, but he still reciprocates my grip.

Whenever I take him into my embrace, he relaxes his body and entrusts himself in my arms.

Those affections are reserved only for me. He shows those faces and gestures only to me. I’m the only one who knows them.

So it’s not like I care about that knight called Schwede Scherzer who arrived with Efa. I don’t mind when I see Lian and him together. Not at all.