BBYW Vol. 4 Chapter 24 (WN)
Chapter 24 – Tears, Resolve, Manliness
I went to the room Mist had directed me to and lightly knocked on the door.
“Ahem…Naam.”
“Please, do not come inside.”
As soon as I called her, Naam replied immediately — by denying me entry. I smiled wryly and continued.
“Well, what happened just now was an accident, wasn’t it? You shouldn’t mind it too much.”
“………..”
“I can imagine the embarrassment a girl feels after being seen like that…but if possible, I’d like to speak face to face.”
“……………”
I spoke as gently as I could, and finally Naam responded. The knob was turned and the door opened.
“….Lord Dyngir.”
“Hey, it’s been a while. I wanted to see you.”
Naam peeked from the gap, and I smiled. She then shuddered and was about to close the door again. Reflexively, I grabbed the knob and put a foot in the door.
“Hey!! Wait, wait a moment!”
“Aaah! Please don’t…!”
“I just want to talk! Calm down a little, okay?”
“Aaah! Please forget about me! D-Don’t look at me…!”
I forcefully opened the door and looked at Naam’s face. Tears were welling up in the eyes of the young maiden, making me feel like I was bullying her.
However, if I stepped back, coming all the way to the western province would have been pointless. For Naam’s sake too, I forced open the door and slipped inside.
“Waah! L-Lord Dyngir!? Why did you come in…!”
“It’s in my nature to give chase if someone flees. Especially if that someone is a woman.”
“I-I…I am a woman…? Lord Dyngir’s…?”
“Hm? Aren’t you?”
She wasn’t “my” woman, though.
Putting that aside, for some reason Naam was looking at me, wide-eyed and flushed.
I had no idea what had struck her so much, but the tears emerging from her eyes were now gone.
“Well, at least you stopped crying…here we go.”
“Eh?”
I picked up Naam, red like a tomato, and sat her on the bed. I then pulled a chair closer, sat on it.
And looked at her in the eyes.
“We can finally talk properly now. So once again…it’s been a while, Naam.”
“Ah…er..yes…it has been a long time, Lord Dyngir.”
Naam, shyly rubbing her knees against each other, returned my greeting. She peeked at me, embarrassed, and looked down every time our eyes met.
“You haven’t changed at all.”
“Aw…I’m, I’m sorry…”
“I don’t mean to blame you. You’re adorable, so it’s okay.”
The women around me usually lacked such modesty, so it felt new and interesting to me. I smiled wryly, then took a letter out of my pocket.
I put the gray, undecorated envelope in Naam’s hands, then grinned mischievously.
“I brought my reply. I wasn’t sure when it would be delivered, because of the war and all, so I thought I should deliver it myself.”
“You can’t mean…you came all the way here just for this!? Do you not know the situation here!?”
Squeezing the letter, Naam shouted, shocked.
“We’re at war!! The ‘Terror Armies’ — hordes of undead creatures are closing in on the capital! Why would you come here just for a letter? I wrote that you shouldn’t!!”
“Yes, that’s right. You did write that I shouldn’t come. That I don’t have to help you.”
Despite Naam’s protests, I just shrugged.
“And that’s my reply. Open it up.”
“B-But…”
“Just read it, come on.”
“Aaw…”
Naam looked at the letter, then at me, then at the letter again, and finally opened it. She tore open the envelope and took out its contents.
“Eh…?”
Her expression then turned to one of confusion.
It was no surprise. There wasn’t a single word written on the paper inside — it was completely blank.
“Take this!”
“Waaaah!? Wh-what!?”
I snatched the blank sheet of paper from Naam’s hands and pushed it against her face, rubbing it all over.
“Wh-whaah!? L-Lord Dyngir…? Waaah!”
“Take this, and this, and this! Hahaha!”
“Hmngh!?”
I pinched Naam’s nose through the paper and pulled it hard. Naam started flailing her arms around, and finally pushed away my hand.
“W-What are you doing, all of a sudden! It hurts!”
Naam pulled the paper away from her face, looking like she was about to cry again, a hint of anger in her voice.
I looked at her face, so full of emotion, and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha, yes! That’s more like it!”
“What are you talking about! Ow…my nose…”
“Naam, you’re still 12 years old. You should cry when you want to, get angry when you want to. You don’t need to think about difficult things yet.”
“Eh?”
Naam looked at me puzzled, as if she couldn’t understand what I meant. The innocent expression, well-fitting her age, made me smile even more.
“A member of House Sphinx must do this, a foreign tribe of the west must do that…those are not things for children to think about. If you’re in trouble, ask for help. If you’re scared, run away. If anyone blames you for doing it, I’ll cut them down.”
“Lord…Dyngir…”
I stood up from the chair, kneeled beside the bed and took Naam’s hand in mine.
Her tanned hand was so small, I felt like it would snap with just a little effort.
(A little girl like this shouldn’t even think about accepting her death…if someone has the ability to save her, they have to.)
“This is my actual reply to your letter. No matter what you say, I will help you. How could I ever let my cute little pen pal die?”
“But…but…there is nothing I can do…no way I can repay you…”
Naam gripped my hand back, tears streaming down her face.
“Don’t think about repaying anything, kid. But if you’re really serious about it, we’ll talk about it again when you’re older.”
“All…right…I will definitely repay you. I will never forget this gratitude…no matter what happens, I will pay you back with my body…!”
“Haha, take it easy now. Well, I am looking forward to it, though.”
I laughed merrily, patting the little sobbing girl on the head.