Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga

Chapter 15: Lagnis Lien da Levien

For now, I firmly instructed Lagnis not to come outside the inn, then decided to stay at the inn for a while after more or less getting Alisha’s understanding.

When I said I was going to stay and watch awhile because trouble seemed to have occurred between her and backstreet hooligan brats, the madam, who let off an unfiltered expletive while holding up a kitchen knife, coolly gave me a room.

Obviously reporting to Asileye was top priority, so I directly raced my horse back all the way home. Really, I couldn’t even remember the last time I had raced at full speed like this.

“And I wondered why it’s been quiet for a while.”

Asileye’s face as she pressed her forehead began to overfill with worry.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die. And I won’t kill either. I could needlessly get nickpicked if I kill in this kind of a problem, after all.”

“Just how do you know those kinds of… no. You’re right. You’re judging correctly. So focus just on being really careful this time.”

When I hugged Asileye who opened her arms with a deep sigh, she paused for a second and then slowly opened her mouth.

“Now that you’re tangled into nobles’ faction fight, you absolutely can’t take them lightly. Once they decided to aim for her, they’ll try to take her away even if they have to order a knight to do it. I’m permitting you because I know more than anyone else that your creed holds the current you up.”

“I know.”

“Honestly I want to immediately run there and either comb through the place to the bottom and catch them, or go with you and help. But my little bro wouldn’t want that, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

She was acting the role of my parents for now, but ultimately she was an adventurer and simultaneously an elf that had lived for over a century. The things I’d been taught until now were focused around literally general knowledge and survival skills that encompassed all of life. Compared to that, the things related to fighting were at most an extremely small portion.

Magic, which was her speciality, was a subject I was weak at, spirit sorcery couldn’t be used for killing in fights against people, and swordsmanship was something she didn’t know much of. At most, she merely pointed out which and which were good when I stitched together the few knowledge and basics of my past life that I had, and taught me a little of the swordsmanship that elves used.

Even though I had the unique trait of burning magic power for body strengthening, I was still simply lacking in the technical side, and obviously I was far weaker than her. Regardless of whoever that might come, it was natural that simply having her at my side would act as a deterrent.

But then, her face would be publicized as a concerned party. I couldn’t make her personally do something that could turn a kingdom’s nobles into her enemy when I couldn’t tell even a little of what would happen from now on.

I didn’t have a hobby of pushing my life’s benefactor towards death, after all. 

“Levi’s birthday is two weeks from now, so they’ll move within that time if they plan to act. I’ll finish it quickly and come back.”

“Two weeks… actually, you won’t have that much time. Their goal should be to take Levi who hasn’t become an adult at their side and publicize the events advantageously for themselves as her guardian, no? Even if you race a horse from Ogwen to Lahelia where transport drakes are and fly on the fastest drake, it takes 3 days to arrive at the capital. Of course, you could go there in just a day if you switch horses and drakes at each anticipated point, but I’m not sure if they would go that far.”

“Et?”

Thinking back, she was right. Whew, I nearly overlooked the travel and almost tripped over myself big time.

“Even if they’ve already finished all the other preparations, I think they’ll want to wrap up the event within a week.”

“Sis is right. Thanks to that, it looks like we’ll be at a bit more advantageous position.”

“Huhuh. Yeah. The ones that hurry tend to make mistakes, after all.”

I almost ended up proceeding with the plan while forgetting an important point. Asileye, having finished our hug, took a look over me afresh and spoke.

“Haah… it’s really strange. Before, I used to go around alone for even a month while adventuring, but… two weeks feel really long.”

“It’s one week if short. I’ll hurry and come back quickly.”

“As if that’ll work like you wish.”

Brushing my head and smiling, Asileye saw me off without much words.

When I rode the horse back like that and returned to the inn after having found the sword I’d left with Yans and even buying and wearing a belt along with it, the once bustling front of the inn was spotlessly cleaned up.

“Oho? You’ve even brought a sword, too?”

Alisha, who had been cleaning up the tables she borrowed to the Holy Light Church priests and priestesses, looked at me as if speechlessly amazed. Even though she would want a rest from standing and cooking constantly since the break of dawn.

“I’ve always brought a sword with me, though?”

“Who you trying to fool? That thing you’ve worn on your back every day was a practice sword, innit? Seeing that pose of yours wearing it on your side, looks like you got it sharpened or something. Real convenient how that worked out.”

When I unconsciously rounded my eyes and fell dazed at the completely unexpected sharp deduction, she snorted and spoke.

“Fucking face you got there. My husband was a swordsman. He died like swordsmans do, though.”

“I really didn’t even imagine that. Could sis also have been an adventurer?”

“I was. You brat.”

“Wow, I seriously didn’t even imagine that!!”

Madam Alisha’s completely unimagined past! I hadn’t been this shocked in the last 6 years!

“Quite the bullshit. Did you eat breakfast?”

“No, not yet.”

“I’m gonna prepare and eat the leftovers with the kids. Come and stuff yourself, too.”

When I followed along ever-generous madam Alisha’s waving hand inside, the fifteen or so kids who had been busily moving around cooking and distributing jobs were all cozily seated together and preparing to eat.

“Eh? Is big bro also eating with us today?”

“He says he’s sleeping here for a while. Levi. You show him an empty room later after eating. I’m going to give the honorable priests and priestesses some stew or something.”

“Yes. Aunt.”

So she’s called aunt among the kids? It’s a continuation of new facts. As I sat down thinking that the surprises were really endlessly coming right from the morning, the kids generously passed me all sorts of stuff.

“Big bro, try this.”

“Big bro, try this too.”

“And this too.”

But they’re trying to give me way too much!

“Oi. I can eat myself. Do I look like a toddler?”

Seeing how they were trying to feed me this and that just because I had taken care of their bare necessities for them, I could really feel that they had become more relaxed. Even then, all I’d done was get them settled using a few copper coins, but they were far too generous.

“By the way big bro. Why are you sleeping here? Did you make Asileye sis angry?”

“Even if I get beat up into a corpse, this big bro never do something that’ll make Asileye sis angry.”

“Then why are you sleeping here?”

“Because Levi beat up a backstreet hooligan that bothered her into a doormat. I’m going to watch a bit just in case they try to retaliate.”

It was a light joke to see Levi jump and fluster around trying to deny it, but let alone jumping, strangely Levi snickered instead. Even more so, kids with a little bit more aged heads simultaneously tilted their heads in confusion. The fuck were all-grown up brats tilting heads for?

“That can’t be right, though? Did new guys come or something?”

But their responses were a little strange. ‘That can’t be right’? I said a hooligan got beaten up and was gritting his teeth, so why were those kinds of words coming out?

“What do you mean? New guys?”

“I mean, the backstreet kids don’t touch the inn’s people, though?”

“Eh?”

Had I been too disinterested with the town these days? Why was there so much I didn’t know? When I sent a gaze asking for an explanation, the kid, munching a bread dipped in stew, added for me a supplementary explanation.

“Those guys don’t even come close to here because big bro sweeps around here. Rather, they avoid it.”

Aagh! No way! Small kids that saw my face smiled and spoke.

“Ah! Big bro, you were lying to tease Levi?”

“What, it’s a lie? Looks like Eldmia big bro can’t become a mage!”

It looked like the effects of the backstreet creed installation class I regularly carried out was incredible. I was jolted awake at the unexpected answer, but the milk was already spilled. Levi brushed the giggling and laughing children’s heads and spoke.

“You’re right. It looks like Eldmia big bro can’t become a mage since he’s a liar.”

Kuk…! Levi… she’s smiling…!

🔷

After having helped with the cleanup and doing the dishes as much as I’d been healthily fed, I took Levi along and headed towards the adventurer’s guild. Even as she moved her steps at my words to go out, Lagnis asked.

“But you said not to move from the inn before, though?”

“‘Cause that was when I wasn’t there. Now you and I have to regularly go back and forth along the same route within the remaining time.”

“T, together? W, why?”

“Because they’ll realize only then that there isn’t any chance for them, and either give up or take an impossible gamble.”

Two weeks wasn’t a short time to find someone. Obviously it would be insane if one had to find someone across the entire kingdom’s worth of area, but if it was finding someone in Ogwen who wasn’t even an original villager and had been a vagrant, or was a vagrant, then it wasn’t even that difficult a problem. Even I myself right now could easily be found with no problem just by combining a few characteristics.

“Places with many watching eyes. Places the guards openly patrol. Places with many adventurers. We’ll go around those kinds of places and flaunt that there isn’t a chance for kidnapping or blackmailing. It doesn’t matter if they don’t notice your changed looks, and it also doesn’t matter even if they do notice.”

In the first place, the thing smack right in front of Alisha’s Inn was the Holy Light Church’s temple. Even though the priests and priestesses there might appear kind and innocent, in front of injustice they turned into berserking paladins. Stalking and then kidnapping? Simultaneously with discovery they’d shatter skulls with bare hands. They wouldn’t be able to do such a bold thing in front of the people who’d come out wondering at the slightest commotion.

“There isn’t even a guarantee that those people haven’t found you yet just because the rumor they’re searching for you is going around. It’s also possible that they’ve already found you and are merely waiting for the right moment, and you’ve noticed them before that moment. Now, how should we act if so?”

“I, I don’t know?”

“We should go around outside. Around as many people as possible.”

We had to stay extensively at a place where we could scream for help at any time.

When I hugged her shoulders with one arm and swept the air as if to show the wide town, I felt Lagnis’ shoulders turn stiff in my hand.

“The only ones in this town who would outright ignore us when you and I shout for help are at most adventurers.”

“Ah!”

Lagnis, who finally understood properly, widely opened her eyes.

All things aside, she was a kid who had lived diligently for the last 3 years. Even more so, a kid who wasn’t picky with work and always worked hard. Ogwen had an inclination to be lenient towards those who worked hard. Regardless of whether that was an outsider, or a different race.

“Well, let’s take this chance and go around eating this and that. I’ll chalk it up as a business expense later, so pay me back when you have time afterwards.”

“Y, yeah! Then w, we can’t get separated, so we should s, stick to each other!”

“Of course! Let’s act like lovers for a while.”

“L, l, lovers!”

As expected of a smart kid, she understood right away. Understanding each other’s words clearly was something always pleasant, so I cheerfully smiled and roamed the streets while hugging Lagnis’s shoulders just like that.

TL note: Hello. Here’s the new chapter. Going forwards, I’ll be updating the translation progress on my profile page, as well as on the chapter list page on this very website. Specifically, I’ll be making small updates on the profile page (e.i. 60% complete, etc), and the chapter list page will have the next chapter’s ETA next to the corresponding chapter’s number.