I, for an unknown reason, was put in charge of the idiot’s treatment until he turns healthy enough to travel to the capital. It was, mildly put, not a pleasant experience.

“Marie, can you feed me?”

I had to bear with helping him with changing his clothes or even feeding him with a spoon. I never expected that I would be on the giving end of feeding someone. I mean, it was like we were a couple or something! Honestly, Gorm-san even started to call us one and no matter how much I threatened or begged, he never stopped, only telling me the word youth again and again.

“Ma-a-arie”

Ugh. I-It’s normal for friends to take care of each other, right? I mean, I’m sure Alan would do the same, if our roles were switched. There is nothing strange in lending your friend a hand, after all. Thus, I took a wooden spoon with the soup I prepared, cooled it a bit and was about to give it to the red-faced idiot.

“Here. It should be warm”

I refused to look at him, admiring the well-made ceiling instead. Man, that’s some awesome work with wood, isn’t it? It takes some mad skills to pull such thing off, right? E-he-he…

I’m so hopeless right now.

“T-Thanks…”

Hmm, so he is finished. Well, that’s fine.

“… I’m still hungry, though”

Goddamn it! I can do this. I will take this spoon… and feed him!

Hmm, surprisingly, it became easier after the first experience, and we managed to have a nice lunch between the two of us. And, while we were eating, Alan asked me some questions.

“So, what’s about those guys we defeated? Where are they now?”

“It’s quite easy. After that incident, most of them were finally captured. However, some of them used their connections and got off scot-free as the result. I don’t think they will bother us after that display of power from our side, however”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Oh, that’s nice. Then, what we are going to do now?”

“You are going to rest well, and I will take care of travel expenses and such. Also, I will have Akira accompany me, so I won’t get robbed by any shady merchants”

“Eh, you can honestly trust a wishy-washy guy like that?”

Wait. Did he say “a wishy-washy guy” just now? I guess, since he has seen her only in a man’s clothes, he doesn’t realize that Akira is a girl. I can leave it like this, or I can crush a potential misunderstanding and an associated flag as well. It looks like my choice is quite obvious.

“Yes, I cannot trust such a guy, but I can trust a girl like this, correct?”

“I see your point, but I don’t quite understand…”

“Akira is a girl, Alan”

It definitely was a good fact that he finished his soup, because I expected him to do a spit-take here. I should praise my ability to predict potential comical effects.

“H-He… I mean, she is?!”

“Of course. I think I can see the difference”

After this, it ordered Alan to sleep a bit, while I will take care of things. Before I could walk out of the room, he was already snoring. Well, he deserves a good sleep.

I silently tip-toed to his bed and whispered into his ear.

“Sleep well, idiot. You deserve this…”

He muttered something in his sleep about being a president, before his expression turned into that of a serene smile. Hey, you’re completely defenseless, i-di-ot…

However, when I turned back, I saw Gorm-san looking at me and Alan with a smug smile on his face. Silently, he said only one word.

“Youth…”

… Damn it, Alan