Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

Chapter 2.06

Chapter 2 Part 6

Translator : PolterGlast

Proofreader : John4891

Ena guided them to a corner of the commercial district. As merchants from various countries gathered here for trade, inns were created, so they could rest. There were various inns from luxury inns for rich merchants to cheap inns for the poor such as porters.

The inn, where Nozomu was brought in, had a sign on top which said "Ushitotei" (Ox Head Pavillion). The first floor featured a dining area, and the second floor seemed to be where the private quarters were located.

"This is the "Ushitotei” inn that we run," Ena said.

She disappeared through the inn’s entrance. Nozomu followed her, and an aunt with a wide-physique wearing an apron greeted them.

"Oh, welcome home, Ena-chan. Did you find Maru-boy?"

"I’m home, Hannah-san. I scolded him properly because he was disturbing others. Oh, and this is the person that my brother troubled”

"Ah, I see. I’m sorry for the trouble caused by this foolish boy. Wait a minute, let us treat you as an apology. It’s on the house."

"No, It’s okay. I don’t really care about that. She already apologized properly, so I don’t mind anymore."

"I’m glad. Then enjoy your time here. Maru-boy, come on! What were you thinking!! Disturbing people again!! Come here for a moment !!"

"Aw aw aw !! Let me go !! Hey !!"

Hannah grabbed Mars’s ears and disappeared into the kitchen. "Goi-n". The sound of a pot hitting someone’s head rang throughout the inn.

After a while, Hannah came back with a tray. There was bread and brown meat on a plate. Salad was also served.

"Here it is. It’s a dish that Ushitotei is proud of! A platter of rabbit meat and salad. This is an apology for the trouble that foolish boy caused, free of charge."

Having said that, Hannah placed the food in front of Nozomu. The aroma of the meat and the overflowing gravy stimulated Nozomu’s appetite. It was already lunchtime. Nozomu himself felt hungry.

Hannah urged Nozomu saying, "just eat it already.” He reached for the dish she prepared for him.

Digger Rabbits were rabbits that live in the forests and grasslands around here, and as the name suggests, they lived by digging holes in the ground and were mainly hunted for food.

The meat of the Digger Rabbit was soft because it was prepared well and then cooked, and it had a scent of sake or what it was baked with. To top it off, the abundant amount of gravy dramatically improved the taste of the food.

The salad and bread that had been prepared also went well with the meat, and it seemed like he could eat his heart out by dipping them in the gravy.

"Thank you for the food. It was really delicious!"

When Nozomu, who had finished eating in a blink of an eye, thanked them, Hannah and Ena laughed with happy faces.

"No, it’s okay! Don’t worry. This was for the trouble Maru-boy caused. And I wonder how delicious I made it this time too."

"That’s right. Originally, that foolish brother was the cause. Nozomu-san doesn’t have to worry about it. What was he thinking by suddenly inviting and then attacking you."

"Currently, that idiot is being disciplined by my husband inside. He won’t do it again, so can you forgive him?"

"Well, I don’t mind about it anymore, so that’s fine ..."

He was angry that he was suddenly attacked, but Nozomu thought it’d be enough after seeing Ena’s mental attacks expose Mars’s past shame out loud.

"I see...I’m glad then... Ena-chan, I’m sorry, but my husband is about to prepare for the night, so please help him."

"Eh...yes, I understand."

Ena, who noticed Hannah was trying to say something, disappeared into the kitchen with an empty plate.

"... say Nozomu? I have something I want to talk about ......... Is that okay?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"The children, Mars and Ena. What do you think of the two?"

"Hmm?"

Nozomu tilted his head because he didn’t understand the meaning of the question. However, when he saw Hannah, her eyes were serious. He couldn’t take it as a joke.

"...Well...I can’t say anything because I just met Ena-chan, but I think she’s a mature child. Maybe Mars had a big influence on her."

Nozomu couldn’t make any judgments about Ena since he’d just met her, but he thought she’d grown up to be a very mature child because of Mars’ bad behavior.

"About Mars...I don’t really know about him. He didn’t really care about me and didn’t try to hide it. But...at the end of the second year, I felt like something was wrong with his attitude. "

Mars was defeated by Nozomu in a mock battle at the end of the second grade to the point of being backed up against the wall.

Since then, Mars had stopped swearing and ridiculing Nozomu.

Nozomu himself was aware that Mars’s attitude had changed, but he didn’t know why; however, Hannah, who heard about the mock battle, muttered as if she was convinced.

"I see...as I thought"

"What is it?"

"I knew about that child’s weird behavior, and when I heard Nozomu-kun’s story, I understood the reason."

"Reason?..."

"Well, yeah. But I’m relieved. There’s someone who can still be friends with that child."

"...E, what does that mean?"

Hannah spoke happily, but Nozomu was skeptical of her words. Although Mars had become docile recently, Nozomu still didn’t think they could become friends based on Mars’ attitude towards Nozomu so far.

"That child, he doesn’t hate you coming here. Maybe, he doesn’t consider you bad anymore, right?

From what he heard, Mars never brought his entourage or the bad guys he knew to this inn. Nozomu was also a little surprised.

(He seems to know at least that what he’s doing is bad, and maybe he’s not as bad as Nozomu thought ...)

At least for Nozomu who’d been harassed by Mars and his entourage, Mars’ decisions to keep his family out of his actions was news to him. Nozomu felt like he knew a little bit more about Mars.

===========================================================

Going back in time, when Nozomu was eating Hannah’s food, Mars and a giant with a stern look were facing each other in the kitchen.

The name of the giant man was Dell. Hannah’s husband and the owner of this inn.

Mars had been scolded by Hannah until recently, and when Dell finished cooking and his wife delivered it to Nozomu, Mars was finally released from the chiding.

However, Mars had a big lump on his head because he was hit by Hannah with a frying pan, and there were tears in his eyes, probably because it was hurt.

"Good grief ... how long are ya gonna keep acting like this?"

“...”

The innkeeper was amazed when he heard about what Mars had done to Nozomu. Mars also thought it was too much, so he had no choice but to shut up.

"Is it cuz’o him that ya been actin’ crazy lately?"

“...”

"From your point of view, maybe, to him...to Nozomu-kun. Did ya lose to that child?"

"Na!!"

Mars was surprised to be told the facts. He’d never told anyone about the mock battle with Nozomu.

"How many years do ya think I’ve been raisin ya in place of yer parents? Yer annoyed by how many times you lost...."

"That’s not it!"

"Then why’d ya become such a bummer?"

Mars turned away and muttered,

"... I just wanted to know why he got stronger ..."

With that said, Dell sighed,

"Haa...".

Mars had some difficulty with Hannah and Ena. He had pride. He had the awareness that he could protect himself; however, there was a time when Dell talked honestly to some extent. For Mars, Dell was an irreplaceable family member, a "reliable father" and, in a sense, aspired to be like him. Even if they weren’t related by blood...

"Why didn’t ya just say that? You just had to ask him bout it from the start."

“...Why are you only telling me this now? Besides, I thought he was just a failure. Far from a decent guy"

As expected, it seemed that Mars couldn’t suddenly accept that someone he’d been swearing at until recently was strong. Well, it was a normal reaction.

"Why? Did ya confirm yerself that he was really a bad person?"

"Are you making a fool of me!?"

"Iya, impressive, when I’m always looking at you, I wonder if there’s an electric jellyfish in your head..."

"N,na, How can I know!!"

Mars’ face turned bright red. He denied it, but Dell felt a little relieved to see that.

Mars had a good relationship with goon, but he never brought them to this inn.

Maybe because they only thought about themselves.

Even though Mars was a bully, Mars wasn’t against it when he saw Ena take Nozomu to the inn. Dell knew that Mars also accepted Nozomu since Mars wouldn’t bring thugs here.

By the way, Electric Jellyfish are one of the demonic beasts that live in the sea. They float while riding in the ocean current, and the electric current generated by the long tentacles numb the prey, letting them be easy picking.

Although it was as large as an adult man, it had no means of movement. It could only float in the sea, and it wasn’t known to be very dangerous in that regard.

Dell was happy that Mars had friends, hence, he told him to do what he had to do.

“... At least apologize for what you did."

"I, I know..."

Dell’s focus and questioning naturally loosened up on Mars, who was listening to what he had to say while averting his gaze awkwardly.

==============================================================

Nozomu, who had been fully cared for, thought it would be bad to disturb them any longer, so he decided it’s about time to leave.

"Excuse me for disturbing you. The food was delicious."

"It’s okay. Please come again. It was quite a lot of food to eat right? This one was worth making too."

"Nozomu-san, my brother may cause you trouble again, but please take care of him."

Dell answered with a smile that didn’t look good on his stern face, and Ena also bowed and thanked Nozomu.

"Look, Mars. You have to send Nozomu off properly because you caused him trouble."

"I know..."

Mars lazily responded to Hannah, who urged him. Nozomu thanked Hannah and others then went back to the dormitory with Mars.

On their way back to the dormitory, the two remained silent. Until now, Mars had only cursed Nozomu, and Nozomu never had a decent conversation with Mars, so it was reasonable.

After a while of silence, Mars spoke first.

"Ah...I’m sorry...for many things up to this point"

Mars apologized to Nozomu awkwardly.

"It’s alright. I don’t mind anymore."

(As expected, I can’t hurt someone who has been so tattered)

Nozomu remembered Ena, who fiercely attacked Mars with her words, and Mars, whose heart was shattered by her. As expected, Nozomu couldn’t pursue further after remembering such verbal abuse.

“...Oi, Did you think something strange just now?”

Mars asked Nozomu because he sensed a disturbing atmosphere from him.

"No, as a human being, why don’t you blame the person who got destroyed by his little sister..."

"Bastard! You’re still thinking about that, huh!! How’d you remember it so well!!"

"No, I can’t just forget something that has such an impact ..."

"Forget it! Forget it now!! Forget it immediately!!!"

"Wait, hey! What are you doing !!!"

Nozomu left in a hurry and Mars rushed towards Nozomu, but he felt that the distance between them was shrinking.

(Somehow it feels nostalgic. There are only a few people besides Shisho who talk like this)

The two were going along while screaming.

No matter how others looked, they could only see them as bad friends, but he felt that the distance between Mars and himself was shrinking.