PDCOO Chapter 11

Dieter once had a dream.

That he'd open his eyes one day to find Anna in an apron standing by his bedside. Calling his name tenderly.

"Dieter."

Now that dream was about 80% fulfilled.

Bedside, apron-wearing Anna asked tenderly.

"Are you all right?"

From this angle, Anna's delicate, adorable face filled his vision properly.

That was nice, but the overall situation was far from happy.

Dieter ground his teeth.

"Why are you carrying me, Bertram!"

The situation was obvious even without explanation.

Dieter had fainted the moment the wolf's paw caught him, and after catching the wolf, Bertram had carried Dieter to the restaurant. Using the standard single-casualty transport method. In other words, the 'prince carrying princess' pose common in storybooks. Dieter's face was red as a wild strawberry.

"Put me down!"

The actual prince, Bertram, coolly refused Dieter's request.

"If you leave my arms now, your ankle will be completely pulverized. Trust me—I'm a professional. I'll hold you until the doctor arrives."

"You called a doctor? He'll just come after dinner anyway. Just put me down! Your arms are too stiff—it's uncomfortable!"

"Oh dear, you're uncomfortable. I'll fix that."

"...Hey!"

Bertram immediately began rocking Dieter like a baby in a cradle. Laughter erupted from all sides. Dieter yelled for someone to please fetch a doctor, but no one listened. Even the chief burst out laughing and raised a toast.

Despite one young man being injured, the mood was soft as down. Dieter's injury was minor, and most of all, the intact wolf pelt lying on the restaurant floor delighted the villagers.

Anna carried celebratory drinks and casually asked the chief.

"How did you catch that wolf? Did Bertram really catch it?"

"Ah, well you see..."

The chief laughed heartily and spun Bertram's story as if it were his own heroic tale.

Bertram's method was simple. He'd skillfully grabbed the tail and pulled. The wolf's spine snapped and it lost strength. Finish off the wolf sprawled on the ground, and done.

When the chief tried to explain the process, Bertram approached and shook his head.

"Please don't explain. I don't want to tell Anna cruel stories."

"Hoh? You said you have no emotions. You care about that sort of thing?"

"Precisely because of that, I must be more careful. I'm easily branded a merciless monster just from stating facts."

"Heh, you've had quite a hard time. All right."

Sympathy appeared in the chief's eyes.

The young men sipping drinks and glancing at Bertram held no hostility.

On the way down to the village, Bertram had declared in advance that no matter what the wolf pelt sold for, he wouldn't take a single coin.

He'd eliminated potential sources of conflict.

Beneath his apparently oblivious exterior, the survival skills he'd learned while wandering showed through.

And that wasn't the only unexpected thing he revealed to the villagers.

"Chief, you said there've been no disappearances in the village recently?"

"Right. That's actually more worrying. If it killed a traveler..."

"Too early to worry. Given the dirt on the wolf's front paw, they may have simply dug up corpses from graves. Check the wolf's paw tonight. If they've been digging around graves, phosphorescent minerals from rotting corpses will be absorbed and glow like will-o'-wisps."

"Oh, really? Then we can check before taking action. Hey, someone check the communal cemetery and the paupers' graves tomorrow!"

The young men grumbled at suddenly being assigned extra work. But most villagers changed how they looked at Bertram. They'd thought him just a suspicious wandering bear, but he was surprisingly sharp. His unchanging expression even while receiving admiring looks was another likable quality. Even Dieter stared at Bertram, stunned.

Only when the doctor entered the restaurant did Dieter snap back to attention.

"Which idiot smashed an ankle?"

"Me! Now put me down, Bertram!"

Bertram soothed Dieter and carried him before the doctor. The doctor looked exasperated but soon whistled when Bertram set Dieter down in the restaurant corner.

"Ho. Who did this first aid on the ankle?"

"I did."

"Clean work. Even if it's broken, it'll heal quickly."

Dieter flinched at the word 'broken.' The doctor cackled and smacked Dieter's forehead. Thwack. Dieter screamed at the cow-dung smell from the doctor's hand. In a small rural village, the human doctor doubled as the animal doctor.

While the doctor examined Dieter, a group of young men beckoned to Bertram.

"Have a drink with us. How about apple wine?"

"I can't get drunk, so it would be a waste, but if that's acceptable."

"Didn't you drink with fellow soldiers during the war?"

"Late in the war, alcohol was precious. We only shared it with those about to die."

"You've been through a lot. Anyway, how's it been staying in our village?"

The young man didn't ask more about the past.

Thanks to that, Bertram could speak honestly without worrying the mood might turn cold.

"Peaceful."

"Right? Our village has a good watch system."

"Ah, so that's why a woman like Anna could walk alone in the middle of the night."

"Anna's braver than most men. When we returned from the war, the village outskirts were completely torn up, and she's the one who suggested clearing it for farmland. She said we were short on workers, so she picked up drifters, fed them, and put them to work to solve it. Fearless, really."

"So it seems. I've seen many people frightened by my appearance, but Anna treated me only as something to fatten up."

Smiles spread among the young men at that.

In the peaceful atmosphere, Anna kept bringing food.

Anna's cooking wasn't exactly delicious, but it met basic standards—perhaps because she used fresh ingredients generously. Add in her chattering, cute voice like seasoning, and it became a pleasant meal.

"Chilled apple wine, fresh out! This is pound cake I baked yesterday. Perfect timing to eat it!"

"Anna, you've really done it right! Anyone would think we're having a feast!"

"It's to cheer everyone up. You'll work hard at the farm starting tomorrow!"

"Can't argue with that. Yes, ma'am, as you wish!"

People giggled and enjoyed the second banquet. Apple wine foam and warmth bubbled up from all sides.

Meanwhile, Anna split a piece of bread, stuffed it full of ham and pickled vegetables, and held it out to Bertram.

"Eat this. They say the pickled vegetables turned out well. And, um, I shouldn't be saying this while giving you food, but... was lunch all right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mom said I prepared too much... and you seemed to be forcing yourself to eat."

"I didn't force myself. Considering I ended up fighting a wolf, it was an appropriate amount."

"Still."

Anna glanced at Bertram's stomach. The shirt fabric falling below his chest muscles revealed little of his stomach's outline.

To show he was fine, Bertram demolished the bread in three bites and picked up pound cake in one hand, chewing.

Would this be enough? Bertram looked back at Anna.

He saw Anna's face full of contented smiles.

The curve drawn by her soft cheeks, her upturned mouth corners, the flush from the evening bonfire.

...All of it looked soft enough to touch.

As Bertram suppressed the instinct to reach out and touch—

Absurdly, Anna raised her hand and grasped Bertram's cheek.

"Your facial muscles seem to move fine. Can't you force a smile? It's strange that you're good at polite small talk but can't smile."

"I'll attempt it. ...How is this?"

"...I'm sorry. Please never attempt that again."

A face handsome as a sculpture became the protagonist of a ghost story in an instant. Anna waved her hands frantically, and Bertram's face returned to normal.

"Didn't the chief ask why you don't smile? He's such a busybody."

"I deflected by saying I injured my head and lost my emotions."

"Ah... Wait. Deflected? You didn't lose emotions from a head injury? There's another reason... No, I mean, you don't have to tell me! I'm not going to pry!"

Anna's hands fluttered. Curiosity and propriety were making her fret.

Saying 'I was cursed' honestly at this point wouldn't be believed anyway.

Bertram conserved his words. Anna soon calmed, and 'let's maintain proper etiquette' seemed to win in her mind—she pulled out a cookie from the bottom of the pound cake basket.

"Would you like this?"

Bertram tried to accept the kindness.

But a third party snatched the cookie away.

"Excuse me."

Not content with that, the man tried to forcibly squeeze between the two of them—

That man was Dieter.

Anna snapped, "Dieter, don't push!"

"I-I'm not pushing, this guy won't move over—"

"You didn't ask me to move."

Bertram held his seat firmly, and in the end, Dieter managed to wedge only his head between them. Dieter grumbled.

"No emotions and no awareness. What do you even have?"

"If you maintain conventional minimal courtesy, I can also perceive what you want and respond. You came in silently, so I thought perhaps you wished to sit on my lap."

"Am I crazy!"

"But your leg must be uncomfortable. Wasn't my embrace pleasant earlier?"

"Of course not!"