The Young Lady With the Most Powerful Specs Was Just Too Cute, so I Started Teasing Her—But Then She Tried to Trap Me With a Chain, so I Kept Running Away With All My Might - Chapter 6

The Young Lady Tends To Hide How She Feels

Horn followed my advice and gave the order to go get a doctor.

“Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“Where does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t.”

“Well, can you stand up?”

“I can.”

“Go ahead then.”

“……”

Oldie placed her hand gently on the arm of her chair.

She tried to stand up just like that, but then she stopped. To be exact, she put a bunch of strength into it for a second, and then she just couldn’t move.

“……Ngh.”

“Oldie?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s definitely something, isn’t it!?”

“It is not!”

Her voice was strong. But right after she spoke, her face turned a little pale, and she looked a bit weak.

“Yesterday’s workout was way too much, wasn’t it?”

“That is…”

“And you were using those chains that much? I don’t know a lot about magic, but if you do something that flashy, of course you’re going to get tired.”

“……”

The maids looked at each other. They probably hadn’t noticed. Well, since Oldie didn’t say anything, maybe there was no way they could have known.

But since I was watching her yesterday, I knew for sure.

This wasn’t just her being in a bad mood. She felt sick.

“Nil, you are being dramatic.”

“I’m not being dramatic.”

“You are too close.”

I really was pretty close to her because I was trying to check her face. I took a step back when she told me.

Oldie clearly looked unhappy about it. But even that grumpy face seemed like it was lacking energy.

“Checking is important.”

“……”

“I want you to get better, Oldie.”

“Get better?”

“Yeah. When you’re having a hard time, even if you can’t say it honestly, I’ll be by your side. I’ll notice.”

“Ah.”

Oldie’s eyes narrowed just a little bit.

It wasn’t as much as yesterday, but I could see a spark of heat in them.

—

It didn’t take long for the family doctor to arrive.

He was an older man, and he must have heard about the big scene yesterday, because he had a bit of a complicated look on his face the moment he walked into the room.

“……So, what seems to be the trouble today?”

“Oldie doesn’t seem to be feeling very well. I think it’s because of the game of tag yesterday.”

I told him the truth, even though I knew I might get blamed for it.

“Nil, be quiet for a little bit.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Oldie scolded me. But even though she told me to be quiet, I was still worried, so I watched over her from a little ways behind.

The doctor looked at Oldie’s face, felt her pulse, checked her eyes, and then used magic.

“[Search]!”

It was my first time seeing medical magic, and it looked really handy.

He was probably looking for what was wrong with that spell.

“Young lady, do you have pain anywhere in your body?”

“……No.”

“Are you sure?”

“My legs just feel a little heavy.”

“Just your legs?”

“My arms too, a little.”

“A little?”

“……A lot.”

“I figured as much.”

The doctor let out a sigh. He asked a few more questions and then had Horn bring some water.

“I’ll give you my conclusion.”

“Okay.”

“It’s exhaustion, a lack of mana, and muscle pain.”

“Lack of mana and muscle pain?”

“Yes. You went and ran that much yesterday when you almost never exercise. On top of that, you used high-power magic over and over. Since the strain on your body and the drain on your mana were both huge, you probably couldn’t handle the backlash.”

Oldie looked away quickly. She looked a little embarrassed.

Even though she was saying stuff like “I will definitely catch you” yesterday, it wasn’t very cool to have muscle pain and be out of magic the next day.

But for me, I felt a little relieved.

Oldie has such amazing power, but she gets tired just like anyone else.

“Please rest for a while. Make recovering your mana your first priority. Don’t try to move around for two or three days.”

“……I understand.”

“Good. Also, watch how you feel from tomorrow on, and remember that pushing yourself is forbidden.”

After the doctor said that, he glanced over at me.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“I heard you were the one who came up with the idea yesterday.”

I quietly looked away.

“Learn how to hold back next time.”

“Yes, sir!”

I knew I’d get in trouble! But well, it makes sense.

I scratched my head and looked at Oldie.

Oldie was still sitting in her chair, looking a little bit sulky.

A sulky face on a straight-faced beauty. That’s actually not bad.

It felt kind of fresh.

“Oldie.”

“What is it.”

“I guess the tag is canceled for today.”

“Obviously.”

“That’s too bad.”

“……You really are a dummy.”

“Yeah. I get that a lot.”

Then, Oldie suddenly turned her face away. But her profile didn’t look empty like it did until yesterday.

She looked grumpy, frustrated, and a little embarrassed, but her face actually showed she was present.

The maids also let out sighs like they were relieved to see that expression.

“Nil.”

Horn spoke to me quietly.

“I am sorry for… how I acted earlier.”

“Huh?”

“Even though we were by her side the whole time, we didn’t notice.”

“No, I just happened to notice by chance.”

“Even so, thank you.”

It made me a little shy to be thanked so seriously like that.

I scratched my head and gave a little laugh.

“I think it’s just because I only met Oldie yesterday, so I’m not used to her yet. That’s probably why the changes seemed big to me.”

“……Nil! You are such a good boy!”

For some reason, Horn praised me, and the other maids were nodding along.

“Um, I mean, the look on her face when she was chasing me, her breathing, the speed of her chains, and stuff like that. I was happy she got energetic, but I feel bad to everyone because it seems like I made her push herself too hard.”

“……Hee-hee, if the young lady gets energetic, then we are happy about it!”

Horn’s eyes narrowed softly.

I don’t know if Oldie heard us or not, and she didn’t say anything, but just the tips of her ears were turning a little red.

Oh, maybe she’s blushing. Well, maybe not, but if she is, that makes me a little happy.

“Well then, Oldie.”

“What.”

“Please be a good girl and rest today.”

“……I’ll think about it.”

“It’s no good acting tough when you’re in pain.”

“You…! Urgh…!”

I ended up teasing her because she was so cute. Seeing Oldie looking like she was in pain, Horn and the others let out small smiles too.

The air in the room felt lighter.

It wasn’t flashy like yesterday. No one was running around, and no chains were flying. But I thought that this kind of thing might not be so bad either.

Noticing when she’s not feeling well, and if she’s pushing herself, stopping her.

I wonder if that’s what being a personal knight apprentice is all about?

“Well then, Oldie. I’ll head out for today.”

“……Okay.”

“I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“……”

“Do you not want me to?”

“……I didn’t say I didn’t want you to.”

I just couldn’t help but say one extra thing at the very end.

It wasn’t a reply like a doll like it was until yesterday. Her voice sounded a little annoyed and a little shy, but it was definitely aimed right at me.

That made me kind of happy, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Alright, I’ll come back tomorrow too.