――Begitu terbangun, aku sadar hari sudah terang di luar.
Sepertinya aku tertidur di ranjangku.
『Kau ini benar-benar bodoh.』
Tangan bayangan Ante keluar dari dadaku dan langsung menusuk mataku seolah-olah itu adalah hal paling wajar di dunia.
「ADUH!」
「Apa kamu sudah bangun?」
Lyla, yang mengenakan seragam pelayan dan duduk di bangku di samping ranjang, langsung menyembunyikan benda di tangannya ke belakang punggung begitu aku sadar.
Liliana, yang tidur di sofa dekat jendela, dengan cepat menegakkan tubuhnya.
「... Sudah berapa lama aku tertidur?」
「Sekitar setengah hari.」
Lyla menjawab sambil tetap menyembunyikan kedua tangannya di belakang punggung. Itu berarti aku pingsan cukup lama.
『Gara-gara kau kehilangan banyak darah, bodoh.』
Ante merenggut kesal. Salah sendiri aku mempertaruhkan nyawa untuk hal sepele begitu.
Awalnya aku ingin mengakhiri pertarungan hanya dengan luka ringan, tapi aku malah kebablasan di tengah jalan dan nyaris menebas kepala gadis itu sungguhan.
『Huh, gadis kurang ajar itu sudah cukup beruntung karena masih bisa bernapas.』
Tangan bayangan Ante mencubit pipiku. Ayolah, beri aku istirahat sebentar.
「... Apa yang terjadi setelah itu?」
「Terjadi kehebohan besar.」
Lyla menjawab dengan senyum kecut.
「Kerabat sang putri berusaha setengah mati menyadarkannya karena jantungnya sempat berhenti berdetak akibat syok.」
Wah~ begitu.
Kendati demikian, menurut Lyla, tidak ada masalah besar karena detak nadi dan pernapasannya kembali normal beberapa detik kemudian.
Bahkan para penonton mengira aku benar-benar memenggal kepala Rumifia, dan mereka semakin tercengang melihatku tetap tenang dan santai meskipun ada luka mengancam jiwa di leherku setelah aku mengambil alih luka Rumifia.
Ketenaranku menggema di tanah ini...
「Apa kau terus berjaga di sisiku selama ini, Lyla?」
「Ya. Berjaga-jaga kalau saja...」
Lyla tersenyum lebar sambil dengan canggung berusaha menyembunyikan tangannya ke belakang punggung. Dia sudah duduk di sana cukup lama rupanya. Gadis itu lalu berdiri dan berjalan menyamping, enggan memperlihatkan benda yang disembunyikannya di balik punggung――
「... Apa yang ada di tanganmu itu?」
Karena terlihat sangat mencurigakan, mau tak mau aku menanyakannya.
「Ah... Um, ini...」
Dengan pasrah, Lyla memperlihatkan 『Benda itu』 dengan wajah tersipu malu.
――Itu adalah jarum rajut dan benang wol.
「Aku mencoba merajut... Tapi hasilnya tidak begitu bagus...」
Seperti yang dia bilang, benda yang dirajutnya adalah―― Apa ya? Bagaimana mengatakannya, rasanya seperti ada sesuatu yang menggeliat di tengah proses pembuatan. Atau, apa benda itu sudah selesai?
「Aku berencana merajut kaus kaki karena sebentar lagi musim dingin...」
Itu tadi, kaus kaki...?
Begitu ya, dia pasti menyembunyikannya karena bentuknya terlihat sangat jelek... Maafkan aku, Lyla.
『Anak ini rupanya punya sifat ceroboh, ya.』
Tepat sekali. Yah, karena tubuhnya adalah makhluk yang berbeda, Lyla mungkin memang agak canggung dalam beberapa hal. Mengesampingkan Lyla, hal ini sebenarnya berlaku untuk semua naga saat mereka menggunakan wujud manusia.
Bahkan Garounya pun menyerah saat harus mengajari Lyla teknik bertarung jarak dekat.
Meskipun begitu, kemampuan menyetrikanya sangat sempurna. Memikirkan berapa banyak waktu dan usaha yang dia curahkan untuk menyempurnakan keterampilan itu saja sudah membuatku ingin menangis.
Namun, dia sebenarnya cukup hebat bisa mencapai tingkat ini untuk seorang pemula, kan?
『Memang. Dia sepertinya sangat fokus dan bersemangat mengerjakannya.』
Begitu ya! Lyla pasti meluap-luap dengan semangat belajar! Dia bahkan membaca buku di dalam kereta, bahkan saat aku tidak ada.
Namun, musim dingin akan segera tiba, ya? Meskipun suhu tidak terlalu memengaruhi para naga――maksudku, mereka secara harfiah bisa berendam di danau yang sangat dingin, atau tidur di atas bara api yang menyala――hal yang sama tidak berlaku saat mereka berada dalam wujud humanoid.
Karena suhu udara akhir-akhir ini semakin dingin, kaki Lyla pasti merasa kedinginan. Itu memang hal yang mengkhawatirkan.
「Jangan ragu untuk memberitahu jika kau merasa kedinginan. Aku akan menyiapkan sesuatu untuk melawan hawa dingin untukmu.」
「Eh? ... Ah, ya.」
Lyla memiringkan kepalanya sejenak mendengar ucapanku sebelum akhirnya mengangguk paham seolah baru menyadari sesuatu.
『Bodoh.』
Namun, yang kudapatkan justru serangan lain ke mataku dari tangan bayangan Ante.
「UARGH!」
Apa yang kau lakukan?
『Seperti yang kau lihat.』
Apa lagi sekarang?
『Tidak... Bukan apa-apa. Kau akan segera tahu maksudku nanti.』
Makanya aku bertanya, kan? ... Lalu Ante tidak menanggapinya lagi.
「... Guk.」
Lyla menatap ke arahku yang sedang berbicara sendiri (dari sudut pandangnya), memiringkan kepala dengan tanda tanya besar di atas kepalanya sebelum kembali tertidur――
†††
（――Silau.）
Gadis itu membuka matanya di tengah kesadarannya yang masih setengah tidur.
「...」
Di dalam kamar yang agak temaram, cahaya matahari menerobos celah tirai diiringi suara burung berkicau kecil.
（... Sudah pagi?）
Gadis itu bertanya-tanya mengapa dia terbangun pada jam segini.
Ingatannya perlahan kembali.
――Dia akhirnya menyadari bahwa dirinya masih hidup.
「HIIIIIIIIK!」
Rumifia langsung meraba lehernya... Dan mendapati lehernya mulus tanpa bekas luka apa pun. Sepertinya dia sudah mengenakan baju tidur dan berbaring di ranjangnya sendiri.
「... Um?」
Lalu, sesuatu bergerak di ujung sudut pandangnya. Ketika menoleh ke arah itu, dia mendapati kakak laki-lakinya――Eijewald terbangun karena mendengar suaranya.
Sang kakak mengangkat wajahnya dengan mata yang masih setengah terpejam.
Pandangan mereka bertemu.
「――Rumi! Kamu sudah bangun!? Kamu tidak apa-apa!?」
Eijewald berdiri, hampir saja menjatuhkan kursinya. Dia dengan cepat mencengkeram kedua bahu Rumifia. Rumifia merasakan kehangatan dari sang kakak――sekaligus kehangatan dari tubuhnya sendiri.
「Kakak... Apa yang sebenarnya... Terjadi di sini?」
Napas Rumifia memburu saat melontarkan pertanyaan itu.
Kejadian itu masih sangat jelas dalam ingatannya.
Dia merasakan sesuatu yang dingin namun terasa membakar, merobek lehernya――
Dan merasakan kekuatan hidup serta suhu tubuhnya lenyap dengan cepat dari tubuhnya――
「Hah... Hah! Hah...!!」
「Tidak apa-apa! Tenanglah... Sekarang semuanya sudah baik-baik saja!!!」
Tubuh Rumifia tiba-tiba gemetar seperti anak rusa yang baru lahir, pernapasannya semakin cepat, dan Eijewald langsung memeluknya untuk menenangkan.
「Jangan khawatir! Semuanya sudah berlalu... Kamu sudah selamat sekarang!」
Merasakan sang kakak tercinta mengelus kepalanya, kehangatan tubuhnya, dan suara lembutnya... Rumifia perlahan-lahan mendapatkan kembali ketenangannya.
Pada saat yang sama, rasa lega yang luar biasa mendesak tenggorokannya――
「Uuh... Uuuuuuuuuuuu!」
Rumifia menangis sejadi-jadinya di dalam pelukan Eijewald.
「SERAAAAAAM BANGET――!!」
—
――When I woke up, I realized that it was already bright outside.
It seems I was sleeping in my bed.
『You dumbass.』
The phantom hand of Ante came out from my chest and stabbed into my eyes as if it was the most natural thing to do.
「OUCH!」
「Have you woken up now?」
Lyla, clad in a maid uniform, who sat on the bench beside the bed, quickly hid the thing in her hands behind her back as soon as I woke up.
Liliana, who slept on the sofa by the window, quickly raised her upper body.
「… How long was I asleep?」
「Around half a day.」
Lyla replied while hiding both her hands behind her back. So that means I've been passed out for quite some time.
『Coz you lost tons of blood, dumbass.』
Ante was fuming with anger. My bad for risking my life for something so trivial.
I originally wanted to end the fight with just a light wound, yet I ended up going too far in the middle and almost chopped the girl's head for real.
『Humph, that cheeky girl is already lucky enough just to be alive.』
Ante's phantom hand pinched my cheek. C'mon, gimme a break already.
「… What happened after that?」
「There was a huge uproar.」
Lyla replied with a wry smile.
「That princess' relatives were trying desperately to resuscitate that princess since her heart stopped beating from the shock.」
Wo~w.
Nevertheless, according to Lyla, there was no problem since her pulse and breathing returned a few seconds later.
Even the spectators thought that I decapitated Rumifia's head for real, and even more astonished seeing me remain calm and composed in spite of the life-threatening wound on my neck after taking over Rumifia's wound. ᚱαɴỌВËŞ
My fame resounded in this land…
「Have you been staying by my side all this time, Lyla?」
「Yes. Just in case…」
Lyla was grinning as she clumsily tried to hide her hands behind her back. She had been sitting for a while now. She then stood up and started walking sideways, unwilling to show the thing she had hidden behind her back to me ――
「… What's in your hands?」
Since it was really suspicious, I couldn't help but ask her.
「Ah… Uhm, this is…」
Resigned, Lyla showed 『That』 with a bashful look on her face.
――It was a crochet needle and knitting wool.
「I tried to do some knitting… But the results aren't that good…」
As she said, the thing she knit was―― What? How should I say, it kinda feels like something wriggly was in the middle of completion. Or, had it been finished?
「I'm thinking of knitting socks since it's almost winter…」
That was, socks…?
I see now, she must be hiding it since it looks really bad… My bad, Lyla.
『This girl has a clumsy attribute eh.』
Sure enough. Well since her body was that of a different creature, Lyla might be a bit clumsy in one way or another. Lyla aside, this had actually applied to every dragon when they used humanization.
Even Garounya raised a white flag in regard to teaching hand-to-hand combat to Lyla.
Nevertheless, her ironing skills were flawless. Just thinking about how much time and effort she put into perfecting that skill was enough to make me cry.
Still, she was actually pretty amazing to reach this level for a beginner, right?
『She is. She seems to be really focused and all fired up in doing this, too.』
I see! Lyla must be brimming with the spirit of learning! She even read a book in the carriage, even when I wasn't present.
However, winter is coming soon, huh? Though temperature didn't really affect the dragon―― I mean, they could literally soak themself in an ice-cold lake, or sleep on top of blazing charcoal―― The same couldn't be said when they were in their humanoid form.
Since the temperature was becoming increasingly cold as of late, Lyla's feet must've felt cold. That was a worrying matter indeed.
「Don't hesitate to tell me if you feel cold. I'll prepare something to fight against the cold for you.」
「Eh? … Ah, yes.」
Lyla cocked her head for a moment hearing my remark before she snapped, as if realizing something, and nodded at me.
『Dumbass.』
Yet, all I got was another attack into my eyes by Ante's phantom hand.
「GAH!」
What are you doing?
『Exactly as you see.』
What's now?
『No… It's nothing. You'll know what I mean soon enough.』
That's why I'm asking you, right? … Then Ante didn't respond to me anymore.
「… Woof.」
Lyla looked at my one man skit(from her perspective), cocking her head as if there was a huge "???" on top of her head before she dozed off again――
†††
（――Bright.）
The girl opened her eyes amidst her trance-like state.
「…」
In the dimly lit room, sunlight passed through the gap in the curtain along with the sound of small birds chirping.
（… Morning already?）
The girl was wondering why she woke up at this time of day.
Her memory gradually returned.
――She finally noticed that she was still alive.
「HYAAAAAAAAA!」
Rumifia touched her neck immediately… And found that her neck was smooth, with no sign of a wound. It seems she wore her nightgown and slept in her own bed.
「… Uhm?」
Then, something moved at the edge of her line of sight. When she turned in that direction, she found her big brother―― Eijewald woke up after hearing her voice.
Her big brother raised his face with half-asleep eyes.
Their line of sight intersected.
「――Rumi! Have you woken up!? Are you okay!?」
Eijewald stood up, almost toppling over his chair. He quickly grabbed Rumifia's shoulders. Rumifia felt her big brother―― And her own body's warmth.
「Big brother… What is… Happening here?」
Ruimifia's breath quickened as she asked that question.
That event was still vivid in her memory.
She felt something cold, yet scorchingly hot, slicing through her neck――
And felt her life force, and temperature rapidly leaving her body――
「Huff… Huff! Huff…!!」
「It's okay! Calm down… It's okay now!!!」
Rumifia's body suddenly trembled like a newborn fawn, her breathing accelerated, and Eijewald quickly hugged her to calm her down.
「Don't worry! It's already in the past… You're alright now!」
Feeling her beloved big brother caressing her head, the warmth of his body, and his gentle voice… Rumifia slowly regained her composure.
At the same time, an overwhelming sense of relief spread in her throat――
「Wu.. Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!」
Rumifia bawled like a baby in Eijewald's embrace.
「SCAWRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY――!!」
—"I thought I was going to dieeeee!" Said Rumifia as she cried.
At that moment, Rumifia thought 「I'm going to die…」. The killing intent directed at her by that terrifying demon prince was still vivid in her memories.
She felt she was thrown into the abyss of despair during that duel, that duel reminded her again just how much she hates pain―― To the point of foolishly convincing herself that she wouldn't be killed by the prince.
Despite crying and bawling like that as she recalled those moments, she was surprised to find that she didn't even feel a shred of hatred toward Jilbagias.
He had completely broken her heart to pieces.
Her body had already come to understand just how terrifying the price she had to pay if she felt dissatisfied with that prince.
This duel had also taught her an important lesson of how much the price she had to pay if she dared to spit on someone like that again. As for what would happen if she saw him again, she had no confidence that she could stop herself from prostrating before him.
（I've had enough…）
Given a choice, she never wanted to see him again―― But being part of the patriarch family meant that option wasn't available for her.
Since it was her own fault to begin with, she couldn't do anything about it and could only rely on her big brother's support.
「… Have you calmed down now?」
「… Yes.」
Rumifia regained her composure after crying for a while and enjoying Eijewald head pats at the same time.
「Great… Is there something that you want?」
「My throat… Is parched.」
「Wait a second, I'll bring back some beverages. Anything you want?」
「… No, everything you bring… Is fine…」
Rumifia felt that her throat was parched, and her entire body was sticky from all the sweat, making her want to make a trip to the bath.
She tried to get up from her bed, but her legs were still trembling.
Her big brother tried to support her, but feeling embarrassed for having to be supported just to walk along the hallway, she kindly refused Eijewald's offer.
「Then use this for now.」
Seeing the unsteady gait of his little sister, Eijewald gave her a staff that leaned by the side of the bed to help her walk on her own.
――Or more like, the training spear.
It was training gear with a blunt blade. However, the moment Rumifia saw its' tip――
「… Err.」
Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed.
「Eh? Hah? Eh!? RUMI!? RUMI, PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER――!!」
Eijewald was at a loss for words, he had no idea what was happening to Rumifial.
From that day――
Rumifia couldn't see the cutlery anymore.
===
My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1
Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations
===TN: Those Who Can't Wait For more Jil-kun's, I've Uploaded Advance chapters in Fox<–HERE and in PATREON (cheaper 10/$10) with a paywall of course===
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