Chapter 44: v6c4: Gratitude

The 3rd Day of the Earth month. While I was writing my diary by the window under the mild afternoon sun, I heard the regular sound of knocking on the door.

 

[Kaito-samaaaa. I’ve brought your laundryyyyy.]

[Ah, yes. Thank you.]

 

Illness-san came into the room in her usual tone of voice and skillfully put the neatly folded laundry into the chest of drawers. As I watched her back as she was doing that, I suddenly thought of something. When I confessed my feelings to Kuro, Illness-san made me realize something important, and besides that, she has always been helpful to me. As for that matter with Kuro, I told her the results and thanked her for helping me…… but I want to thank her more properly. Even if I wanted to thank her though, what should I do?

 

Embarrassing it may be to say this, but even though I had been under her care for a few months already, I can’t say that I know Illness well. She’s a very capable maid, extremely kind and reliable……. I do know some things about what she’s like when it comes to work, but I don’t know anything about her private life.

 

[Oyaaaaa? Kaito-samaaaa, is something the matteeeeeer?]

[Ah, no, ummm…… I’ve always been under Illness-san’s care, so I’d like to express my gratitude…… but I’m not sure how.]

[Gratitude, is iiiiiiit?]

 

Hearing Illness-san suddenly ask me that, I answered her, but after I said it, I felt like I blundered. That’s because Illness-san is basically a person that doesn’t desire anything. She often declines the salary increase and promotion that Lilia-san offers her, and even if I asked straightforwardly like this, I felt like she would just say I don’t need to express my gratitude.

 

However, contrary to my thoughts, Illness-san looked at me, before putting her hand on her chin, seemingly thinking about my question for a moment. After a few moments of silence, she let out her usual smile before speaking.

 

[……Kuhihi, I’ll take your word for it theeeeen. Do you miiiiind if I request one thiiiiing?]

[You’d like to request something? Yes, if it’s something I can do.]

""

[Well theeeeen, if you’ll excuse meeeee…… I would have the day off tomorroooooow and am planning to go out for a little shoppiiiiiing. Sooooo, if you don’t mind, Kaito-samaaaaa, would you accompany me on that shopping triiiiip?]

[Eh? Ah, yes. Of course, it’s alright.]

[Thank you very muuuuch, that would be greeeeat.]

 

She wants me to accompany her in shopping? What is this? Was she asking me to carry her luggage?

Rather, Illness-san also takes days off too huh…… No, that’s something that should be obvious, but I’ve never seen her resting before, so I was a little surprised. However, what was even more valuable was the fact that, even though I had initiated this topic, Illness-san had expressed her request to me for the first time. To be honest, I think being her luggage carrier would be a little too light for all the favors I’ve received from her……

 

[Kuhihi, well theeen, would it be alriiiiight if we meet up at the door around 10 o’clooooock?]

[Yes. You can count on me.]

[I’m looking forward to it theeeeen.]

 

Saying this, Illness-san gave a beautiful bow before leaving the room. It was a little different from what I had imagined, but at any rate, I would now be able to express my gratitude to Illness-san for the care she gave for me. I don’t know what Illness-san was planning to buy, but I’m looking forward to going out with Illness-san.

 

 

 

 

 

The appointed time was 10 o’clock, but I couldn’t keep Illness-san waiting, so I went to the entrance 15 minutes before our appointment and waited. Thereupon, seemingly intending to come early too, Illness-san arrived 10 minutes before our appointment and called out to me.

 

[Oyaaaa, my apologieeees. Did I make you waiiiiiit?]

[Ah, no, I also just…… ar….rived.]

""

 

As I was answering her question, I turned around and couldn’t help but be at a loss for words. Come to think of it, this should be the first time I’ve seen Illness-san wearing anything other than a maid uniform. What she’s wearing doesn’t look too luxurious, but it isn’t too plain either. A blue jeweled necklace that is casually worn on a dress that is somewhere between a one-piece and a dress, having a calm color scheme. I could also smell an elegant perfume with a subtle scent.

 

How should I say this…… Even though Illness-san had a stature small enough that, much less a middle-schooler, she could even be mistaken for a grade-schooler, the elegance around her was so surprisingly mature that my heart skipped a beat.

 

[Well theeeen, shall we gooooo?]

[Ah, yes.]

 

As Illness-san said this while walking forward with a beautiful gait, I walked next to her and tried to keep my steps as close as possible to hers. I wonder why though? I’m feeling strangely nervous. Illness-san in her casual clothing is just really, how should I say this…… She really feels like a mature lady, and although we were walking side by side, I feel as if I’m walking under her lead.

 

[B- By the way, Illness-san. What are you going to buy today?]

[Ahh, I was thinkiiiiiing of buying some ingredieeeeents and tea leeeeeeeaves.]

[Tea leaves? This is something you’re buying while on your day off, so this wouldn’t be for the mansion, right?]

 

I didn’t know anything about Illness-san’s private life, so if she’s going to buy tea leaves, I suppose she’s probably a tea lover. In that case, I guess this is something I should remember.

 

[That’s riiiiiight, I’m thinking of buying some tea leeeeeaves that we don’t often serve at the mansioooooon.]

[Are those tea leaves rare?]

[Nooooope~~ That isn’t really the caaaaaase. It’s just thaaaaat they might not be suitableeeeee for the Albert Duchyyyyyy.]

[Unnn?]

 

I’m not that familiar with tea, so I don’t really understand what Illness-san meant and could only tilt my head. Thereupon, after glancing at me, Illness-san gave me a small smile and explained.

 

[Milady is a Duchess after aaaaaaall, so the tea leaves should also be high qualityyyyy. Though I said thaaaaaat, the brand name variiiiies somewhat depending on whiiiiiich part of residence it waaaaas. Simply puuuuut, there are some teaaaaas that Milady doesn’t liiiiiike, while there are also sooooome teas that doesn’t match the sweets being served at the same tiiiiiime~~]

[I see.]

[The tea leeeeeaves we’re buying today also go well with certain sweeeeeeets, but they don’t go well with cookiiiiiiies, so we don’t keep them in the mansioooooon.]

 

Now that she mentioned it, I think that certainly makes sense. The head of the mansion is Lilia-san, so the tea leaves should always be prepared according to her taste. Come to think of it, I heard from Sieg-san that Lilia-san doesn’t like scones very much, so most of the teacakes served at the mansion were either cakes or cookies.

 

[Heehhh…… By the way, who selects the tea kept in the mansion? Was it perhaps the Head Maid or the Head Chef?]

[It’s meeeee. I’m the one in chaaaaaarge of purchasing the ingredients used in the mansion, incluuuuuding tea leaaaaaaves.]

[Eeeehhh!? Y- You’re also handling the selection of ingredients…… I- Is that really alright? Isn’t it rough……]

[Noooope~~ It doesn’t really take that much effoooooort.]

[………………….]

 

No, no, Lilia-san’s mansion is very large and has a lot of servants. If you were to include the food for the servants staying in the mansion, the amount of ingredients she buys would be quite large. Such a large amount is being bought by Illness-san…… I wonder how much work Illness-san does on a daily basis? Rather, the fact that she can say that “it doesn’t take much effort” is also very impressive.

 

As I walked along, realizing once again how amazing Illness-san was, we seemed to have arrived at our first destination, a tea specialty store.

 

[Excuse our intrusiooooon.]

 

When Illness-san opened the door to the store and we stepped inside, a pleasant aroma wafted out from the air. Inside the store, there were many kinds of tea, but to be honest, for someone who was unfamiliar with tea, I couldn’t tell what was what at all.

 

[Welcome. Ara, Illness-san. Thank you for your continuous patronage.]

 

A young female shopkeeper who seemed to be  familiar with Illness-san bowed her head with a soft smile when she saw her.

 

[For you to not be wearing your maid uniform, that’s quite unusual.]

[I’m on vacatioooooon.]

[Is that so…… Oya? Oya oya…… I see, you’re on a date huh.]

[Wha!?]

 

After a short conversation with Illness-san, the shopkeeper seems to have noticed me, and with a happy smile on her lips, she asked if we’re on a date. Hearing the words I didn’t expect, I couldn’t help but be at a loss for words. Date? N- No, I’m just thanking Illness-san for all the help she’s given me, so it’s not like this is a date……

 

H- However, it would be strange for me to deny it here, wouldn’t it? H- How should I respond here……

 

[I just unreasooooonably asked him to come with meeee.]

""

 

However, unlike the panicking me, Illness-san neither denied nor affirmed her words, taking a mature and relaxed approach to the situation. How should I say this…… I can certainly feel the difference in experience between us. Just like that, she chatted with the shopkeeper for a bit, before she started looking at the tea leaves in the store with me. Illness-san picked up a few tea leaves without hesitation and checked the aroma, occasionally saying stuff like “the aroma is a little weak”, but I couldn’t really tell the difference. Illness-san quickly bought several kinds of tea, and having them placed within a paper bag, she walked out of the store with me.

 

……I wasn’t able to help out Illness-san at all. No, well, it was obvious that I couldn’t help her with choosing tea…… but I couldn’t help but feel miserable. Especially since today is for me to thank Illness-san for always taking care of me, and I wanted to help her in some way, so I called out to Illness-san, who was walking next to me.

 

[I- Illness-san. Let me help you with the luggage.]

 

A paper bag containing only a few cans of tea seemed like it would be light, but feeling like I wanted to help her, I said this to her. Thereupon, Illness-san looked at me and smiled, before handing me the paper bag in her hand.

 

[Thank youuuuu. That really heeeeeeelps.]

 

How should I say this…… I think this part of Illness-san is really great. Illness-san is gentle and warm, a lady enwrapping you in motherliness, but she doesn’t pamper you, and was instead superbly raising you up, or rather, it’s like she satisfies your fragile self-esteem. Whenever I’m thinking about something that I was to ask or needed help with, it’s as if she can read my mind and would be there for me to rely on.

 

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I’ve never tried asking her, but if I were to think of wanting to spoil her…… Illness-san will probably let me spoil her to my heart’s content. Not only does she kindly take care of me, she  also satisfies my self-esteem as a man, and when the time where I want to be spoiled comes, she’ll probably accept me with open arms. If a person lives alone with Illness-san, she will probably become someone useless without her in less than a month.

 

That just shows how much of a lady overflowing with charm Illness-san is…… In a way, she’s totally a useless guy-manufacturing machine.

 

[It was nice to be ableeee to go out with you like this, Kaito-samaaaaa. I’m sorry to have kept you busyyyyyy with my personal shoppiiiiiing, but thanks to Kaito-sama’s preseeeeeeence, I’m having a very enjoyable holidaaaaaay.]

 

Seriously, it’s because she says stuff like this so smoothly that my heart can’t stop beating faster.

 

[……Errr, if Illness-san is glad with this, then I’m happy too.]

[Kuhihi, thank you very muuuuuch. Please accompany me a bit longer, okaaaaay?]

 

H- Hmmm……. I wonder if I’m really managing to thank her like this? I feel like this situation is going as Illness-san plans though……

 

After that, I went with her to several stores and accompanied her shopping. Illness-san bought several kinds of black tea, ripple fruits, dairy products such as fresh cream and a few other ingredients…… What’s with this combination? Was she planning to bake a cake later? I suggested that we put the ingredients in the magic box, but since I wanted Illness-san to rely on me, I kept them in my magic box. We then went to several shops, and before we knew it, it was already lunchtime…… perhaps, wouldn’t now be a good time to suggest having lunch?

 

[Illness-san, it’s almost lunchtime…… How about we eat somewhere?]

[I suppoooooose. What should we dooooo? It might be a bit crowdeeeeed, but should we eat in a restauraaaaant? Or perhaaaaaps, there’s a park nearbyyyyy, so should we have our meal theeeeeere?]

 

I don’t know how many times I’ve said this today, but Illness-san sure is amazing. Not only did she take my suggestion, she also offered me a few options to pick and opted to make me decide. However, what should we do…… As I wanted to express my gratitude, I would have like to treat her to a delicious meal at a fancy restaurant. But just as Illness-san said, the restaurants would probably be quite crowded around this time. Especially for restaurants here in the main street…… but I remembered that Illness-san said that she didn’t like being too conspicuous and places that are boisterous.

 

[……Shall we go buy something to eat and eat it in the park?]

[Yes, I understaaaaaand. I don’t really like noisy placeeeees, so I’d prefer thaaaaat.]

 

She’d have probably gone along with whichever one I chose, but I’m glad that I chose the option that made Illness-san very happy. And thus, we decided to have a meal at a nearby park, and while listening to what Illness-san likes at the stall, we bought some food and headed for the park. There, we sat down on a rather large bench and laid out the items that we had bought, and even though it couldn’t be helped since we bought them randomly, I feel like the quantity of food we bought was rather few for two people. Well, I could just eat less, so there’s no problem……

 

[Kaito-samaaaaa, it was rather shabbyyyyy, but I made some onigiriiiiis. If you’d liiiiiike, please eat theeeeem.]

 

……Arehh? Just as I was thinking that our food isn’t sufficient for us, with superb timing, she took out a basket of rice balls? All of the food that Illness-san wanted to buy were also suitable for side dishes…… Arehh? Had she anticipated that a development like this would happen!?

 

 

[E- Errr, Illness-san? Could it be that, along with me saying to eat lunch in the park, everything went just as you anticipated?]

[Noooo~~ That isn’t the caaaaase. I just prepared something for Kaito-samaaa to eat when you get hungry during our shoppiiiiiing.]

[T- Thank you.]

[No, nooooo~~]

 

She really is just like a holy mother. However, I wonder what this sense of defeat I’m feeling……

The onigiris are super delicious. The garnishes are all the ones I like, and the size and shape makes them easy to eat.

 

[They were very delicious.]

[I’m glad to hear thaaaaaat. We also have teaaaaaa.]

[……Thank you.]

 

There was even a warm green tea being served…… This was more than a satisfactory meal. Errr, I’m thanking Illness-san for all the help she’s given me…… should be the case, right? Rather than thanking her, it feels like I’m being cared after even more…… That aside, Illness-san. So you do have your own magic box huh…… She really did just entrust the luggage with me to raise me up.

 

[Kuhihi, please eat your fiiiiiiill.]

[……Yes.]

 

Illness-san is too tough. After finishing lunch, we went back to the mansion after about an hour of visiting some stores again. I don’t feel like I did much to help, but Illness-san thanked me and told me she had fun. Rather than me thanking her, it felt more like the two of us just enjoying shopping together…… but I’m glad that Illness-san had fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, this and that are different matters, and I’ll think of something else to express my gratitude to her. After spending some fun shopping with Illness-san,  I went back to my room and while I was passing my time reading a book, I heard the sound of regular knocks, and a neatly-clothed Illness-san came in pushing a cart with something that smells great.

 

[Please excuse my intrusioooooon. Kaito-samaaaa, it’s right around snack tiiiiiime, so I’ve brought something to celebraaaaaaate.]

[To celebrate?]

[Yeeees~~ It might be smaaaaalll, but it’s to celebraaaaaate that Kaito-sama’s feelings have reached Underworld King-samaaaaaa.]

 

Saying this, Illness-san put some tea and a cake on the table in front of the sofa I was sitting on.

 

[T- Thank you for the meal.]

 

Since she kindly prepared this for me, I decided to gratefully accept and take a bite of the cake, I found its sour and sweet flavors perfectly mixing in my mouth. This gentle-tasting cake is the best I’ve ever had, and it really matches my taste.

 

[Amazing…… Illness-san, this cake is really delicious!]

[I’m glaaaaaad you like iiiiiiit.]

 

And then, when I reached for the black tea, I found that it had an unusual flavor with a unique astringency…… This astringent taste enhances the sweetness of the cake though, and when I took a bit of the cake again after drinking tea, I felt like it was even more delicious than before. It was already really delicious, but it could be even more delicious. This cake, it’s an apple…… ripple cake, right? This tea with a unique taste also tastes great…… Unnn?

 

I feel like this is the first time I’ve eaten a ripple cake for tea time in this mansion. This is also the first time I’ve drunk tea with such a unique astringency, but it’s a tea that goes perfectly well with the cake, made with ingredients Illness-san bought when she went shopping today…… Arehh?

 

[……Ummm, Illness-san. Can I ask you something?]

[What is iiiiiiiit?]

[……Today’s shopping, was it to prepare this celebratory cake?]

[That’s riiiiiight.]

[………………….]

 

What in the world is happening…… I wanted to thank Illness-san, but instead of properly thanking her, I ended up with more things to thank her instead. This ended up being a completely fruitless effort. Of course, I’m very glad about how Illness-san felt, and I really had fun with our shopping today.

 

It’s just, somehow…… I really wish I could just properly express my gratitude to Illness-san……

 

[I diiiiiid already receive your gratituuuuuude~~]

[……Eh?]

 

When I looked up, feeling as if she had read my mind again, I saw Illness-san looking at me. Unlike her usual unfocused eyes though, she was staring at me with a strong and passionate focus, with a gentle smile on her lips. She isn’t wearing her usual peculiar smile, nor was it the smile that often appears on her lips. Just by looking at her current smile, I can feel the warmth in her heart as she smiled gently and beautifully.

 

[You haaaaaad happily told me the outcome of your challeeeeenge. Wanting to express gratituuuuude, you thought of meeeee. And nooooow, you had told meeeeee that the cake I baked is “deliciouuuuus”.]

[…………………]

[For meeeee, those were the greeeeeatest gift I could ever haaaaaaave. My heart woooooon’t be able to accept any more than thiiiiiiis.]

 

Those certainly felt like Illness-san’s true thoughts. Ah, seriously…… She has a dazzling motherliness, like a holy mother overflowing with deep affection.

“Your well-being is my happiness.” “Your smile is the best gift I can receive.” Without any hesitation, she said such words to me.

 

[And sooooo, I want to thank you for todaaaaaay. Seeing aaaaaall the superb expressions on your face todaaaay makes me really happyyyyyy. If there’s another opportunityyyyyy, let’s go out together agaaaaaaaain.]

[……Yes.]

[Well theeeeen, I will go back to woooooork.]

[……Eh? Arehh? Isn’t today your day off?]

[I was indeed on my day ooooooff.]

 

Only saying those words, Illness-san left. I think I somehow understood what she meant with her words. It isn’t that she had the whole day off, but that she had taken the day off until a specific time in order to give me this celebration…… Good gracious, it really feels like everything is going as Illness-san plans. However, unnn…… It doesn’t feel unpleasant. Rather, my heart feels really warm and blessed. Feeling thankful for the miracle of having met this wonderful person named Illness-san……

 

Well, putting that aside…… Seriously, when does Illness-san take a rest!? I somehow feel like Lilia-san when she’s holding her head in her hands.

 

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