PDCOO Chapter 6

Her face, which had flushed hotly at being called "Lady," refused to return to its normal color. It had been a phrase that made her whole body tingle. Honestly, it had not felt all that bad, but... if he were to call Anna a lady in front of the villagers, she would become fifty years' worth of teasing material.

Anna steadied her voice and spoke firmly.

"Mister Bertram. People here use words like 'lady' or 'gentleman' to mean 'high-class people from other villages.' So please don't call me that here. You don't need to protect me either. I've been wandering this village alone for twenty years now."

"Then I shall have the honor of escorting you home for the first time."

"Eek! N-never mind!"

Anna let out a high-pitched scream without thinking and spun around.

Her face grew hot.

'Honor? Lady? Did he learn about the world from books? How does he say such things out loud?'

The men in this village did not even know how to say the lip-service phrase "I'll walk you home"!

On the other hand, perhaps because this reaction was a first for him, Bertram followed right behind Anna in puzzlement.

"I thought it was a common greeting, but is it burdensome?"

"Yes! Yes! Really! Don't do that! Where did you even learn such things, shameless man!"

"I will restrain myself. However, it is true that I wish to escort you home."

"I said it's fine! This village is safe!"

Anna hastened her steps. But no matter how much Anna scurried through the darkness, when Bertram took two or three long strides, the distance closed instantly.

Bertram's voice came from directly above the back of her head.

"There seem to be numerous wolf-like beasts inhabiting the area near the village."

"Wolves almost never come down to the village. Even if they do, they go to the communal pasture where the livestock are!"

"Which means there are countermeasures against wolves near the communal pasture, correct? Is there a night watch or something?"

Right. Near the pasture, there was a lodge where workers took turns on night duty, and when wolves appeared, they would immediately call the night watch.

Bertram interpreted Anna's silence as affirmation.

"Wolves are clever. The moment they realize the pasture is an unsuitable hunting ground, they will come down to the village. That could be tonight."

"...You're really smart. Ah, you were about to answer 'Yes, I am smart' just now, weren't you? Don't."

"..."

"When Mister Bertram talks with people, you maximize using your wits and perception instead of emotions, don't you? Just like how I maximize using other senses instead of my sense of smell when cooking. But the thing is, when I talk with you, I feel like I'm being treated as a puzzle."

"A puzzle?"

"Yes. You reach your own conclusions and fit what people around you say into them. You did that this afternoon too. 'I am in debt. You mother and daughter must cooperate so I can repay my debt.' You're doing it now too. 'You seem to be in danger. Acknowledge it and accept my help.'"

After pouring out her words rapidly, Anna paused to catch her breath.

The thing that had been bothering her about conversing with Bertram finally organized itself within Anna.

For that person who claimed not to understand emotions, conversation was thoroughly a means to an end. So if she brought up a topic even slightly different from his "purpose," she could not help but feel like she was talking to a wall.

But would he really try to improve just because she pointed it out?

Even after she had explained in such detail, if he ignored it, she would kick his shin and never look back.

Anna spun around to hear Bertram's excuse.

At that moment, Bertram said, "Miss Anna, are you all right?"

Soon Anna could understand what the problem was as well.

Tears suddenly flowed down. Meanwhile, the corners of her mouth lifted as high as they could go. Sounds unrelated to Anna's will flowed from her throat.

"Ha, ha... Ahahahahaha!"

"Miss Anna!"

"Wh-what is this, hahaha, huh?"

The tears and laughter would not stop. The lifted corners of her mouth ached.

Anna belatedly realized what this situation was. If you ate the ugly brown mushrooms that grew wild near the village, exactly these symptoms appeared, didn't they? Crying and laughing for several hours before falling asleep.

'What on earth did he pick up and boil, this man...'

The important thing was securing a safe place before falling asleep.

Anna looked up at Bertram, trembling. Could this person really be of help? She would be fortunate if he did not abandon Anna and run, afraid of getting caught by the villagers for causing this accident.

"Ahahahaha, h-home..."

"Miss Anna. I am truly sorry."

"Apologizing hahahaha!"

'This isn't the time to apologize! He's not planning to just leave me here, is he?'

Of course he was not.

Bertram bowed his head.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Bertram removed his cloak and draped it over Anna's shoulders, then wrapped the cloak around Anna and hoisted her onto his shoulder. The ground instantly grew distant. It was the highest view she had ever seen in her life.

"D-d-don't—"

"You want me to put you down because you're scared? I cannot. I will return you to your home quickly, Miss Anna. However, before that, it will be quite bumpy..."

Bertram spoke solemnly.

"You may vomit. I am good at laundry, you see."

It was a dreadfully comforting thing to say.

Dieter's mother, Collie, tried to understand her son's nonsense.

"Anna came by earlier and shared onion porridge, saying she 'made too much.' But thinking about it, saying 'the night road is dangerous, I'll walk you home' might help you win her over, so you want to go out even now, son?"

Dieter's face flushed bright red.

"Mother. I'm not trying to win her over!"

"Do you think I don't know you like her? Anyway, don't do useless things."

"Why not! Of course I know this village isn't very dangerous, but..."

"No, if you go out, will you protect Anna, or will Anna protect you?"

Dieter could not argue back.

Even with her small frame, Anna acted as bravely as any member of the night watch.

She had even made a wolf she encountered in the mountains slip on a muddy road and crack its skull.

"I'm more worried about letting you out, Dieter. Besides, there's that strange person who came into the village now."

"The person who went to Anna's restaurant?"

"Right. Even after Karlah drove him out, no one saw him leave the village. Thanks to that, the night watch is on edge. They're worried he might try to take revenge on the village men who picked a fight with him... Wait, Dieter! Where are you going!"

"You expect me to stay home after hearing that?"

"Were all my words until now dog shit and not words?"

Dieter ignored his mother's words and rushed out.

How had he forgotten about that bastard's existence?

'What if Anna tries to feed him again, feeling sorry for him, and gets eaten!'

He meant it physically.

To Dieter, Bertram was a man who suited such imaginings.

Expressionless, impossible to tell what he was thinking, uselessly large build.

Plus that black fur cloak that brought to mind the lord of beasts.

Dieter's imagination grew increasingly urgent, and before the imaginary Bertram could take a bite out of Anna, Dieter succeeded in waking two village uncles and dragging them out to the street.

The two men gripped a pitchfork and shovel, grumbling.

"Do you worry about Anna because you have no one else to worry about, you bastard?"

"Right. Do you know how big Anna's guts are? Before, when a wolf got its head stuck in the pasture fence and was growling, all the shepherds ran away but Anna alone picked up a stone and cracked that wolf's skull."

"Uncles! It's not just about wolves! That man is the problem. Doesn't he look like a deserter or criminal?"

"What deserter stands out that much?"

"H-he might have aimed for that stereotype!"

"Look at this kid bringing out difficult words because he doesn't want to lose to adults. Worried about your childhood friend now?"

"I've always been worri— urk!"

Dieter's voice cut off.

One uncle had struck Dieter's solar plexus.

"Shh."

At the uncle's fingertip, a single gray wolf prowling around the village came into view. Had it fallen behind from its pack? It was emaciated, but still a beast that could easily kill one or two people.

"Dieter. Hurry down to the village and call others."

"Wo-wolves? That's unusual."

"But... seeing how it's heading up the mountain, it seems to be targeting something other than us. Should we leave it be?"

The uncle beside him muttered.

"The mountain midslope? Come to think of it, I think I heard Dean bragging today about how he and the young village guys played a trick on that bear."

"Huh? What did they do?"

"Apparently they lied that the Jester's Cap mushrooms growing on the mountain midslope taste good when boiled. The bear didn't actually believe it and pick those mushrooms to eat and pass out, did he?"

"...This is crazy."

The two uncles gripped their farming tools more tightly.

No matter how suspicious an uninvited guest, they did not want to watch him die caught up in villagers' pranks. That would be a year's worth of nightmare material. One uncle irritably kicked Dieter's shin.

"Hurry up and go call people!"

"U-uncle. Up there. Doesn't it look like something's moving?"

"...Hm?"

The two middle-aged men squinted toward where Dieter was pointing.

What had at first looked like merely swaying black leaves was gradually approaching this way, revealing its form under the moonlight.

It was the uninvited guest.