Day 3 at the Echidna House

Tweet——..

"....hmm"

Hayler opened his eyes to the sound of birds chirping.

This time, fortunately, it wasn't Echidna who was holding him, but he himself who had rolled off the bed.

"Ugh... My back feels like it's completely broken because I slept on the floor...?"

Even if I try to get up, it's not that easy. Even if I roll down to the floor, I don't wake up in the middle of the night and just fall asleep. So, even if I try to straighten my back properly, it's difficult because of the pain.

"That's it...."

With a small groan, Hayler barely managed to straighten his back, opened the door, and stepped out of the room.

Unlike the comfortable, fluffy carpet that covered the entire Echidna room, the floor in the hallway outside was cold and hard.

Squeak... squeak...

With each step I take on the wooden floor, the warm sunlight streaming through the window warms my skin.

Even the occasional breeze blowing through the hallway helped me wake up.

Just as I was thinking about having a cup of coffee, I arrived at the butler's room and knocked lightly.

Knock knock———.

(Yes, I'm going.)

Clank.

"Hey, Master Hayler. What brings you here this morning?"

Heidel Weasley | Head Butler of the Echidna House

As the door opened, the butler, who looked a little older, appeared. Hayler smiled and bowed his head as if greeting him. The butler was a little flustered, but quickly regained his original form and invited him into his room, saying he was cold.

Crash...

Click..

"This tea is made from Hepima tea leaves. It's good for waking up. Try it."

"thank you."

The clear barley tea in the small teacup placed before him was diligently producing a hazy steam.

"The reason I came today was to see if I could get permission to go out."

Weasley's eyes widened slightly in surprise at my words, but he soon closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment as if thinking about it. However, less than two minutes later, he opened his eyes again and went to sleep.

"I don't know the exact reason, but... well, I think a short outing would be okay..."

"Thank you."

"But... why are you going out?"

"Um... I had something I left with the blacksmith, and I have to go pick it up today."

"..Hmm, I understand." Swish...

Ding———.

At the remark, which was nothing special, Weasley nodded slightly, got up with a kind smile, rang the bell, called a knight, explained the situation, and placed the knight next to Hayler.

"Just in case, I'll send a knight to you."

"Thank you, Young-ae..."

"It's okay, I'll tell you."

'angel..!!!!'

At Weasley's words, Hayler was on the verge of tears of joy at finally having a normal member of the Echidna family, but he held it back and bowed his head once more before walking towards the main gate of the Echidna mansion.

"...How long will you be here~? Kerrigan."

....

....

"———Did you notice..."

Pushuk.......,

Weasley was watching Hayler laugh outside the window when he spoke to an unidentified figure in a voice full of laughter. The space around the sofa distorted and white smoke rose, and when it cleared, there was Kerrigan sitting on the sofa.

"Aren't you the same?"

"It makes me feel bad when you say it like that..."

When Weasley spoke to Kerrigan jokingly, Kerrigan sipped her teacup as if she were still the same.

Hurrup...

"It tastes bad. The tea you make tastes bad no matter when you drink it."

"Haha, take that as a compliment."

"Don't take it as a compliment."

They bicker strangely, but they get along well.

It's only natural that they'd be a good match for each other, since Weasley and Kerrigan had both been to the top with swords in the same unit.

Of course, neither of them ended well.

He was seriously injured in the war and was no longer able to work as a prosecutor.

But Weasley had to be happy just to have survived, so he meekly and calmly accepted his situation.

Kerrigan, on the other hand, tried to distance herself from her situation.

But strangely enough, neither of them regretted their choice.

No, maybe I did it because I knew it was already too late to regret it.

"The weather is warm today... I think it would be nice to take a walk in the backyard for the first time in a while."

"...."

Gulp...

Kerrigan listened to Weasley's words in silence and then took a sip of tea.

"I mean... someday... I hoped we'd be remembered not as heroes, but simply as knights. I hoped that our comrades, who died miserably and hopelessly there, would be praised as true heroes, not just us who returned alive from that bloody battlefield."

.....

"While we're at it, how about we go see our comrades for the first time in a while?"

When I suggested it to Kerrigan with a kind smile, Kerrigan put down her teacup without saying anything and fiddled with her sword.

"I want to drink..."

Something very poisonous.