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 9

The Young Lady’s Friend

Side: Nil Metasura

Oldie got completely better in exactly three days.

Her mana recovered, and the pain in her sore muscles faded away.

“Well then, Oldie. Would you like to play tag?”

“You really want to play tag with me no matter what, don’t you?”

“I guess so. Your chains and your physical abilities are amazing. For me, it was the first time in a while I got to run around for real, so it was a lot of fun!”

Man, that was seriously a blast.

“Sigh.”

“Oh? Oldie, did you just let out a sigh? Are your feelings coming back?”

When I asked her that, her face was blank as usual, showing no emotion.

However, the eyes that used to look so dull definitely had a sparkle of light reflecting in them now.

“You’re noisy.”

“Hee-hee. Oh my, saying someone is ‘noisy’ like that… that doesn’t sound like something a Duke’s daughter would say, Oldie.”

“Ngh…!”

I’ve realized something. Oldie really hates losing.

That’s why she’ll jump right in if I tease her.

“Fine then. Let’s play tag. I’ll show you that I can catch you right now.”

“Wait a second!”

“What is it? I’m saying I’ll do what you asked for.”

She looked a little huffy.

But if she wrecks the mansion like last time, I’m the one who’s going to get in trouble this time for sure.

I don’t want to end up drowning in debt!

“I agree, but right now your body isn’t ready for that kind of exercise. So let’s start with something light. We’ll set a boundary and a time limit.”

“A boundary and a time limit?”

“Yeah. The place will be the knight training grounds. We won’t use the building; we’ll use the outdoor field. And it won’t be just me—let’s play tag with five of the senior knights too.”

“Why is it not just the two of us?”

“Did you really want it to be just the two of us that much?”

I just can’t help myself when I find a good spot to tease her.

“I don’t mind if other people are there!”

Just as we were about to head out after deciding the rules, Horn, who was waiting by the door, stopped us.

“Young lady.”

“Yes.”

“Today is the day Lady Katary Bare Iitasso is coming to visit.”

“Ah.”

It looks like there’s a guest coming today.

“Please refrain from playing tag.”

“……Yes.”

She answered, but Oldie gave me a frustrated look.

Even if she looks at me like that, there’s nothing I can do.

“So today was a day for a friend to visit.”

“……Yes.”

“Then for today, I’ll act as your guard behind you.”

“You’ll stay?”

“Of course. I’m your personal knight, after all. Even if I’m just an apprentice.”

When I said that, Oldie looked away just a tiny bit.

She didn’t seem like she was in a bad mood, though.

—

Horn went to go get the friend, and while we were waiting, the door opened.

The person who walked in was a small girl, the daughter of an Earl.

She was ten years old, the same age as Oldie. She wore a light blue dress and had curly chestnut hair. She had a cute face and wore a small silver decoration on her chest.

“Good day, Oldie.”

“Good day, Katary.”

The way noble girls greet each other is so pretty and polite.

Katary Bare Iitasso suddenly turned her gaze toward me.

It was only for a split second, but she had a look in her eyes like she had discovered something.

“And who is this?”

“This is Nil, my personal knight.”

“Oh my! This is the first time you’ve brought a personal knight with you!”

With her sparkling eyes, she was a mysterious girl who looked both childish and grown-up at the same time for a friend of Oldie’s.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nil Metasura.”

“……It is nice to meet you. I am Katary Bare Iitasso.”

She seemed full of confidence. As Horn started getting the tea ready, Katary took a seat after Oldie invited her to sit.

“I am relieved to see you looking well today.”

“Yes.”

“Last time we met, you didn’t look very well, so you look a little different than before.”

“Yeah.”

When Oldie talks to me, she uses more words.

But when she talks to her friend, she just gives short answers.

Even so, Katary kept talking to Oldie.

Horn told me a little bit about Katary.

Apparently, among the girls the Duke gathered to try and cheer Oldie up, she’s the one who loves talking the most. Even if Oldie doesn’t give much of a reaction, she’s the person who just keeps talking to her.

“Hee-hee, well, it is about time for me to head home.”

“Okay. Thank you for today.”

“!!!”

Oldie was only saying thank you, but that seemed to be a huge surprise to Katary, and her eyes went wide.

“Not at all! I am looking forward to talking with you again next time!”

“Okay!”

“Nil.”

After saying goodbye to Oldie, Katary called my name.

“Yes?”

“Would you mind seeing me out?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Oldie, do you mind?”

“I don’t.”

The way she said it was so natural that I didn’t have a reason to say no.

Oldie didn’t say anything, but she looked back and forth between me and Katary.

After a moment, Katary got up. I followed behind her and left the room.

—

There was a small terrace at the end of the wide hallway.

Katary stopped there in a quiet spot where you could see the garden and said she “wanted to rest for a bit.”

There weren’t many people around.

As soon as we got there, Katary spun around.

“Nil! You are amazing!”

“Huh?”

“You’re really amazing! Thank you so much!”

“For what?”

She wasn’t acting like the elegant and polite noble girl from before anymore; she had a face that showed she was just a kid her age, and she had a lot of energy. Katary held her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling.

“Oldie was different today compared to last time!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Before, no matter what I said, she was more… thin, and closed off. She was like a pretty doll!”

I can kind of understand that.

“But today was different! She was actually reacting properly only when she was talking to you!”

“With me?”

“Yes! Her eyes, the vibe around her, her words too! You must really be precious to her, Nil!”

Am I precious to her? But I’ve only played tag once.

I don’t feel like I’ve become that close with the young lady yet.

“That’s why I wanted to thank you!”

“No, I didn’t really do anything.”

“It is not ‘nothing’!”

She leaned in close.

The young girl’s face was right in front of mine.

“You moved Oldie’s heart!”

“No, I…”

Gosh, I can’t get through to her.

When I took a half-step back, Katary realized what she was doing and cleared her throat.

“Excuse me. But this is really important.”

“What is?”

“Oldie is actually a villain.”

“……A villain?”

What is this kid talking about?

“In the game, Oldie is the villainess with the strongest stats!”

“A game?”

“It’s a story from the world I was in before!”

Now I really don’t get it. But Katary looked completely serious.

“Oldie is a user of the Chains of Ruin.”

“Chains of Ruin…”

“Yes! She’s strong, beautiful, and noble, and in the end, she falls into darkness so much that she destroys the world!”

“Wait a minute. I don’t understand what you’re saying at all.”

“It’s true! But she’s my favorite character and I want to save her! I’ve always thought that.”

Is this person crazy? Oldie is a villain? What do you mean by “villain”?

“Oldie lost her mother when she was little, she doesn’t let anyone get close, she doesn’t open her heart to anyone, and her heart slowly gets eaten away by loneliness. When she grows up, she becomes incredibly beautiful, strong, and the most noble person at the academy.”

Wow, she is really in her own little world.

“In the end, she destroys everything! But that’s the best part… no, anyway, that’s the kind of person she is!”

“It’s the best part?”

“It’s the best! But she gets destroyed!”

“Which one is it?”

“It’s both! But Oldie today definitely wasn’t lonely, and she didn’t have that vibe of not letting anyone near her.”

My head started to hurt.

This girl probably means what she’s saying, but I can’t understand most of it.

But if I put the pieces of what she said together, does it mean she just really likes Oldie?

“I’ll prove it to you! Just how amazing, how dangerous, and how beautiful Oldie is supposed to be!”

“Well, I already know she’s dangerous. She chased me with those chains.”

Those chains were scary. But running away from them is super fun.

“Anyway! I want you to be my helper from now on, Nil!”

“A helper?”

“Yes! The ‘Save Oldie Squad’!”

Katary talked happily with a big smile.

Well, I could at least understand that she wasn’t a bad kid.