Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage

Character page: Here

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Chapter 167 – Looking after the kids

“Ah, I wonder if Cecilia is free today.”  [Youki]

Would it be a bother if I suddenly showed up… especially with two kids in tow? Quinn-kun and Fiora-chan didn’t seem like they’d be much trouble, though. It was probable that Sophia-san had raised them well.

“Youki-san, I’m really looking forward to sparring with you.”  [Quinn]

“Yeah, I’ll make sure we spar without hurting anyone.”  [Youki]

Quinn-kun was practically brimming with anticipation for me to train him. He normally looked calm and expressionless, so seeing him act like a kid his age was kind of a relief.

“Sleepy… sleepy…”  [Fiora]

As for Fiora-chan, she looked like she was sleepwalking while we were walking. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes were half-shut. Yet, she was keeping up with me and Quinn-kun just fine. She even responded when spoken to. What was up with that?

“Don’t worry about Fiora.”  [Quinn]

“Easier said than done.”  [Youki]

“Mother is currently trying to correct this habit of hers.”  [Quinn]

“Ah, well, if it’s Sophia-san, I’m sure she’ll manage.”  [Youki]

After all, Sophia-san trained the maids and the guards of the household, so she would be more than capable of raising her own kids properly as well.

“You know my mother, right? Fiora just loves playing with our father, and despite her efforts to prevent this habit, my mother feels like this situation is her greatest failure.”  [Quinn]

“Well… I think it’s fine to let the kids be free while they’re young.”  [Youki]

Calling it her greatest failure would be too dramatic. Both Quinn-kun and Fiora-chan have so much potential ahead of them. They were probably around the same age as Sheik.

I had probably given Sheik too much freedom as well, but Cecilia mentioned before that Sheik is keeping up with his training and is knowledgeable about medicine. He must be pretty smart if he’s reading and understanding books on medicinal herbs. He’s also kind enough to put up with Tiel-chan’s endless boasting about Gai. Yeah, Sheik’s still a kid…

While chatting with Quinn-kun, we finally arrived at Cecilia’s place, but of course, the first obstacle was…

“Youki-sama, I don’t believe you had an appointment with young mistress today. And, may I ask why my son and daughter are with you?”  [Sophia]

“It’s a request from your husband.”  [Youki]

“I see. Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave. Young mistress is in her room, and Happiness should be finishing up cleaning the garden by now, so I’ll ask her to show you in.”  [Sophia]

“Um… what exactly is this business you have?”  [Youki]

“Just a quick trip to town during my lunch break. I’ll be right back.”  [Sophia]

I figured it was best not to ask further, so I silently watched her leave to make preparations. Both Quinn-kun and Fiora-chan remained quiet as well. Sophia-san didn’t seem to say much to them either.

“I’m happy my parents get along so well, but sometimes I wish they’d tone it down a little.”  [Quinn]

“…Quinn-kun, you’ve got it tough, don’t you?”  [Youki]

I had a feeling that Quinn-kun would have a tough time in the future, so I gave him a pat on the shoulder. Shortly after, Sophia-san left the mansion at lightning speed. At the same time, the maid, Happiness, arrived.

“…The head maid’s children.”  [Happiness]

“Oh, Happiness. The boy is Quinn-kun, and the girl is Fiora-chan.”  [Youki]

Since it would take a bit of getting used to talking with Happiness, I handled the introductions for them. Talking while walking would help them get used to it… or maybe not.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Quinn.”  [Quinn]

“I’m Fiora…zzz.”  [Fiora]

“…Hey.”  [Happiness]

After the brief introductions, we followed behind Happiness. The destination was supposed to be Cecilia’s room, but we wound up in the garden for some reason.

“Why the garden?”  [Youki]

“…Broom.”  [Happiness]

It seemed that she had forgotten to put away the broom. Thinking it wouldn’t be good to leave it lying around, she came to tidy up. She grabbed the broom and quickly headed towards the storage shed.

“There’s something about Happiness-san that feels kind of… mysterious, doesn’t it?”  [Quinn]

Quinn-kun murmured as he watched Happiness’s retreating figure. They hadn’t even been acquainted for a few minutes, yet he already felt that way. He must be talking about her demeanour and way of speaking, right? I felt a little uneasy.

Just to be sure, I glanced at Quinn-kun’s eyes as he followed Happiness, but there wasn’t any suspicion in them. Was it something akin to a boy admiring a cool older sister from the neighbourhood? Could Happiness be entering her ‘popular phase’? I had heard that falling in love would make someone more beautiful. If so, Raven could be in danger. I decided to nip this potential flag for Quinn-kun in the bud early to be safe. Sorry, Quinn-kun.

“Quinn-kun, do you know, Happiness has enough strength to easily send a grown man like me flying… Guh!?”  [Youki]

A blow hit me in the side. Happiness was supposed to be putting away the broom, so who could it be?

“Got you, Captain!” 

Sheik stood there, looking at me with a satisfied grin. He timed that punch perfectly, sinking his fist right into me. Quinn-kun stared at us, wondering who my attacker was, while Fiora-chan let out a big yawn, seemingly disinterested.

Cecilia mentioned that Sheik had been training lately, so I decided to see how he progressed. I couldn’t just let him off easily after attacking me either. I brushed away the arm still pressing into my side and swung at Sheik.

“Yay! Captain’s mad!”  [Sheik]

“I’m not mad. Just thought I’d give you a real match for once. And since we’ve got guests today, I’m not holding back.”  [Youki]

I started sparring with him at a speed he could barely react to, just like before. He could not keep up easily, but he was faring relatively well compared to last time. He seemed to have grown stronger. I kept increasing my speed bit by bit, testing his limits. Once it looked like he was struggling, I stopped pushing further to see how long he could maintain the same pace.

“Huff, puff… You got this, but you can do more. Come on!”  [Youki]

“Ugh… huff, huff…”  [Sheik]

Sheik’s breathing was starting to falter as he was nearing his limit. I swept his legs, throwing him off balance, and lifted one of his feet.

“Let go!”  [Sheik]

“Well, you’ve trained hard. You’ve done well. I’ll treat you to something next time.”  [Youki]

“Really!? Captain, you’re the best!”  [Sheik]

I set down Sheik, who seemed to be in a better mood after being promised a reward. Quinn-kun and Fiora-chan had been watching our sparring session from the start to the end, so I wondered what they thought of it.

“Youki-san, who exactly is he? At first, I thought he had a laid-back vibe like Fiora, but I was surprised. To move like that at our age is incredible. Although, I don’t think I’m any worse.”  [Quinn]

Quinn-kun stared at Sheik intently. He seemed more interested in sparring with Sheik than with me. On the other hand, Fiora-chan didn’t seem particularly invested even after watching the match. She was already slumped over a table, resting herself.

“Captain, who are these kids?”  [Sheik]

“Ah, they’re the children of Sophia-san, the mansion’s head maid.”  [Youki]

“Hmm.”  [Sheik]

Sheik responded indifferently as if he wasn’t all that interested. Even though that was just his nature, his attitude was slightly rude, especially towards someone he just met. Quinn-kun didn’t seem thrilled either, but as Sophia-san’s son, he quickly composed himself and introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Quinn. You must be Sheik-kun, right? The sparring session you had with Youki-san was impressive. I’d like to ask a favour. Would you be willing to spar with me too?”  [Quinn]

Of course, I figured it would come to this. As for Sheik…

“Sure.”  [Sheik]

He accepted easily. It was probable that the previous session hadn’t entirely satisfied him either. The two moved to a more open space to go all out. After light stretching and jumping around, they began communicating through their fists.

“…What’s going on?”

After putting away the broom, Happiness returned only to witness a fight.

“Quinn-kun asked to spar with Sheik, and being the easy-going person he is, Sheik agreed. That’s how we ended up with this scene.”  [Youki]

“…Understood.”  [Happiness]

“Sheik’s gotten a lot stronger. I sparred with him earlier, and he’s completely different from before. He’s been training hard here.”  [Youki]

“…I occasionally spar with him.”  [Happiness]

Happiness seemed to be helping Sheik with his training as well. It wasn’t exactly her job as a maid, but since she was like an older sister to him, she probably helped out whenever she was free.

“…I got injured once, and I got found out.”  [Happiness]

“By Raven, huh… and what did he do?”  [Youki]

“…He said he’d spar with Sheik in my place next time.”  [Happiness]

This would probably make him happy. The captain of the knights himself would be training him. I decided to mention it to Raven the next time. Since Sheik was eager to get stronger, he would probably appreciate the most demanding training he could ask for.

“W-What’s going on here!?”

“Oh, Cecilia?”  [Youki]

Was it just a coincidence? Or did someone tell her? Either way, she came running towards us, looking rather flustered.

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