PDCOO Chapter 9

Back in her room, Anna had a strange dream.

In the middle of a windswept field, Anna stood wearing a dress. A pretty dress like those storybook princesses wore.

Standing before Princess Anna was a bipedal black bear.

The bear wore a crown, so Anna understood the current situation in her own way and asked.

"You're cursed, aren't you? Shall I kiss you?"

Words that would earn a smack from Karlah.

At that bold proposal so unlike Anna, the bear shook its head.

Then it bared sharp teeth and asked.

"Did a human prince turn into a bear, or did a bear receive a prince's position?"

"What?"

"If the former, you need only break the curse. But I might be the latter."

The bear showed its fangs.

A gesture asking if she knew what might happen if she kissed it.

But Anna stepped forward.

She felt certain this bear was harmless.

The bear stepped back and cried out.

"I could tear you to shreds and devour you!"

The bear's mouth smelled of wild strawberries.

Anna's steps quickened.

The bear stumbled backward until the wall of wind stopped it. Before the approaching Anna, it said something, but the wind drowned out the words.

Scratch, scratch. The rough scraping of sand.

The strawberry scent drew closer and...

"Have you lost your mind."

At her mother's sudden voice, Anna's eyes flew open. A strawberry Karlah held popped into her mouth.

"Sour!"

"What kind of crazy dream makes you stick your lips out like that?"

"I, I didn't dream anything!"

Anna's face flushed.

She was embarrassed at having such a childish dream at twenty-two, but Karlah seemed to misunderstand its meaning. She grabbed Anna's ear and pulled.

"Need to marry you off quickly so you stop having idle thoughts. Who'll take someone this lazy! Do you even know that bear-man woke at dawn to sweep the yard?"

The regular swish, swish sounds had apparently been Bertram cleaning.

Anna smoothly changed the subject.

"Mom, really, you acted like you'd throw him out but now you think he's admirable? You're about to hire him permanently."

"If you hadn't vomited on his clothes, I would have thrown him out immediately."

"...I was so dizzy."

"Anyway, didn't you hear anything else? Like what he did for a living?"

"He said he was on the battlefield until the end. Doesn't seem to be a deserter."

"Anyone can say that."

Anna pursed her lips.

"Why ask if you won't believe the answer?"

"What, Anna, are you on the man's side now?"

"It's ridiculous to treat him like a criminal without proof."

"You have to prepare for the worst! I'd hate it if he were a noble too.... He hasn't shown you jewels or anything to seduce you, has he?"

"Hahaha! What are you talking about!"

She burst out laughing at the absurd idea, but Karlah's expression was serious.

"I'm not joking. Has he casually shown you expensive things? It's a common tactic nobles use to seduce commoners."

The blue jewel on his chest came to mind, but Anna shook her head.

He had not casually shown it to her.

Anna had looked herself.

But having confirmed Bertram's clothes were high quality, Karlah did not back down easily.

"Tomorrow Mom's going to say 'you worked hard so we'll call the debt paid' and send him away. So work him hard today, but don't be alone with him. Got it? Getting your nose hooked happens in an instant!"

"Mom's being strange. You didn't say anything when I brought other people home before. But this time you're especially prickly."

Karlah looked caught off guard.

"...Am I?"

"Yeah. Anyway, Mom doesn't need to worry. The whole village is watching."

"Right, sure."

Karlah mumbled vaguely. But why would the thought 'this time is different' not leave her head?

Just then, Bertram peered into the restaurant and spoke to the mother and daughter.

"Miss Karlah. A customer has arrived."

"It's not business hours yet."

"Not a paying customer."

The "non-paying customers" who had been hidden behind Bertram's back stepped forward with frowning faces.

Dieter and the village chief.

The chief gestured to Karlah and headed toward the restaurant, while Dieter approached Anna and stopped.

"Anna... Oh, you just woke up. Sorry, I'll come back later."

"Hm? Why?"

"...You need to wash your face to greet customers, don't you?"

"Why would I for you?"

Anna scratched the back of her head. Her hair stood up in ∩-shapes wherever her fingers passed. Without smoothing it down, Anna chewed the strawberry Karlah had left behind and asked.

"What brings you here so early?"

"I was worried. Did that bastard do anything strange?"

"Hm? Bertram is always strange."

Dieter's brow narrowed.

"Oh, your face is strange now too."

"Please, Anna!"

"No, seriously, why is everyone like this? It's not like feeding people I pick up and putting them to work is new. I get it from Mom, but why you?"

"Well, that's..."

'The world stabilized and it seemed Anna would not be picking up anyone else anymore, so I was about to propose, but suddenly this beast-like man dropped from the sky so of course I'm anxious, aren't I? Plus you were alone with that bastard in the middle of the night under the excuse of sharing onion porridge?'

The long sentence flowed through Dieter's head.

But there was not a single phrase worth voicing.

Even Dieter had the common sense not to tell a girl he was still friends with the bullshit line 'I like you so don't be around other men.'

"Th-this is my manly intuition. That man is suspicious."

"Oh my! What a credible argument!"

"Listen seriously!"

"That's my line? Like I'd believe anything based on intuition about a man I've met twice. Just say you don't like him because his face is mean. Then I'll ask Bertram 'Dieter's scared, so please don't go near him.'"

Dieter's face turned bright red.

His lips worked trying to squeeze out some rebuttal, but Anna ignored him and headed to the well to wash her face.

Human psychology being what it is, being told not to worry made her worry more. Anna looked around for Bertram pointlessly and soon found him beside Karlah and the chief.

The chief said one last thing to Karlah.

"Then feed him lunch and send him off. Got it?"

"Yes, understood. Don't work him too hard. Especially don't let him meet Dean, that bastard."

"Got it. Oh my, isn't that Anna? You're always so tiny."

"Chief, you're always living backward, defying expectations!"

Words aimed at the chief whose head was bald while his beard grew wild down to his sternum. Karlah rushed to smack Anna's back, and the chief chuckled, shook Bertram's hand once, then left the restaurant.

"Mom, what did the chief want?"

"There was a wolf in the village yesterday, remember? The chief's gathering the young men to investigate, and he asked to borrow Bertram."

"Is Bertram a thing to borrow?"

"He agreed himself. Right?"

Bertram nodded.

"Yes. It is no burden."

"See? More reliable than my daughter."

Dieter, who had been eavesdropping up to that point, bolted out of the restaurant. Target: the chief. Dieter's shout reached them faintly.

"Chieeef! Let me join the wolf patrol too!"

Whether the chief would include Dieter was not a concern, so none of the three listened for his answer.

Anna rolled up her sleeves energetically.

"Good! Then I should pack you a solid lunch. Anything you want to eat? Or anything you need for patrol?"

"I need nothing, but..."

Bertram turned toward Anna. His body blocked her view, making it feel like only the two of them existed in the world. Anna swallowed nervously.

"I would like to know what happened last night."

With the most serious expression and voice in the world, what Bertram pulled from his pocket was...

The floral apron.

The very item Anna had covered his feet with during the night.

Anna burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! It's nothing. I came to check if you were sleeping well and saw your feet sticking out from the blanket, so I covered them."

"Is it acceptable to use an apron to cover feet?"

"You worry about the strangest things! It's an apron I don't use anyway, so it's fine."

She had worried about what he might say, but her tension dissolved instantly. Anna took the apron and chatted cheerfully.

"Use it all you want today. And I don't know if I should say this, but you looked really cute with it on."

"...Pardon?"

'Cute.'

The first modifier he had heard since gaining self-awareness.

Anna soon turned back toward the restaurant, but the word she left behind—light and fluttering like a flower petal—rippled across Bertram's chest.

Before Bertram was recruited for the patrol, Anna prepared a mountain of food for lunch.

"Eat this while I'm gone. I have to deliver food to the workers at the communal farm... Bertram? Are you all right? Can you see my hand?"

Anna waved her hand in front of Bertram's face as he sat at the table. His head nodded readily enough, but something was different. Like a broken clockwork toy.

If Karlah hadn't been yelling, Anna would have gone to fetch a doctor.

"The workers will starve! Hurry up and get to the farm!"

"All right, all right! Mom, if Bertram says he needs more food, can you help him out?"

"...Fat chance he'll need more."

After preparing enough to feed an ox, Anna grabbed the lunch basket and dashed out.

Once the restaurant finally quieted, Karlah watched Bertram silently shovel food into his mouth.

'Why is Anna suddenly fussing over Bertram? Is something wrong with him? ...Surely they haven't caught each other's eye.'