Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death

translator: mii

editors: sleepchaser, ASplashofMusic

“…Good morning… Alfred,” says Lian.

I approach him at a slow pace, taking care that I don’t surprise him, before planting a gentle kiss on his silver hair.

Usually, he’ll grow angry and say, “What are you doing, you idiot?!” But Lian currently just woke up. In this state, most of his mental faculties are still sluggish, so I can casually kiss him like this and he won’t burst with rage.

In fact, whenever our eyes meet, he often stares at me with this dazed expression and flashes me a soft smile.

Even when I stroke his cheek, Lian doesn’t appear to hate it. On the contrary, he squints his eyes in comfort and even seems to rub his cheek against my palm.

Seeing this, I remember something.

He’s just like that silver cat. Only when it has just woken up can I manage to stroke its fur without getting scratched in the process.

Another thing is that both of these silver-haired—or furred—creatures remain half-awake for a considerably long time.

When I slide my hand down to the bottom of Lian’s chin and give him a gentle scratch there, his cheeks darken to a faint red. He lets out a small sigh.

Does it feel that comfortable? Then Lian leans into my hand, defenselessly exposing his pale neck, eyes slowly sliding shut.

His body has completely grown lax against me.

This… no way.

Is he… giving me an invitation?

No, wait. I have to calm down.

He’s merely half-asleep.

I need to get a hold of myself.

Endure. Endure this.

If I do something to him because of this passing impulse, then there won’t be a next time for me anymore.

So forcefully, I squash my urges, which have once again risen to the surface. Put a lid and even a weight on top of them for good measure.

While I sit on the side of the bed, Lian’s body, along with his hair, faintly sways from side to side, similar to the bouncing motions of a spring upon release from its compressed state.

When Lian is about to fall diagonally onto the bed, I extend my arm to support his unstable body. He also grabs my sleeve, probably to hold himself up. “…It’s about this Saturday,” he says.

It seems that he called me today to talk about my task for the coming Saturday.

“In the southwestern area of the village, two bloodclaw bears were spotted on the mountain path…”

“Bloodclaw bears? How unusual.”

The bloodclaw bear is a demon with a semblance to bears, its size approximately that of an adult man.

However, what makes them terrifying are their claws, which are about three times larger than those of a normal bear. And colored red, as if blood fully coated them.

They also have red eyes and two extra heads.

According to the demon encyclopedia, bloodclaw bears scare their opponents into believing that they’re as terrifying as they look, hoping to avoid any confrontation. They certainly appear brutal enough to be convincing.

In spite of their appearance, these bears are incredibly vigilant by nature. They only hunt wild animals and small demons deep in the mountains. Rarely do they descend into human civilization.

“…I received a request from the villagers to investigate this matter because they were alarmed by it. So we’re going to visit the mountain path the day after tomorrow, on Saturday… Come to the mansion at around eight o’clock…”

“Got it.”

“Thanks… Also, since this could be dangerous, make sure to thoroughly prepare before coming here. I will accomplish my own set of preparations, but you’ll be in charge of bringing a lot of medicinal ointment… And sleep early tonight and tomorrow. Make sure you don’t catch a cold. You need to be in your best condition… Ah, we might also need some rope… We should bring camping tools too in case of emergencies…”

Even though he’s half-asleep, Lian’s worrywart nature still pops up. I feel like laughing as I listen to him. “Yes, I understand. Will we have to stay overnight?”

“I don’t know. It’ll depend on the situation…”

“Got it. Then I’ll inform Cheddar-san that I might need to stay the night in the mountains.”

“Yeah…” Lian nods.

Then I release my hold on Lian. Since he has been completely reliant on me for support, his body plops back onto the bed. His silver hair lightly spreads around his head on top of the verdant sheets. Exposed to the morning sunlight, it seems to glow a soft silver.

Lian’s mother has the same hair and eye color as Lian, but she gives off a very cold impression. On the other hand, Lian always appears soft and warm.

I shift his body so that he can rest his head on the pillow, and Lian lets me, not a bit of tension or resistance to be seen from him. In the process, his pale neck is once again right before my eyes.

An urge to bite into it attacks me, but I desperately fight against it…

Wait.

As long as I don’t go overboard, it should be okay, right? Just a few touches?

After all, Lian is this defenseless around me.

Despite my close proximity and constant touches since earlier, he still hasn’t raised his guard.

It should be fine.

So, I climb on top of Lian and plant my elbows by the sides of his head, enveloping him. He stares up at me, eyes dazed and half-lidded

All of a sudden, I remember that I was asked to deliver a message to Lian. “Lian, the trio of kids want to see you again. They told me to ask you when you can visit them again.”

“I see…” Lian flashes a smile, seeming a little troubled but also happy.

Recently, the kids have grown more and more accustomed to the Cheddars and to life in the ranch.

But alongside that, the number of visits Lian took to the ranch to see the kids have dropped significantly.

He also doesn’t nap with them anymore, a habit that formed in the church.

Lian seems to be doing this on purpose. After all, he himself told me we should get the kids used to the Cheddars as soon as possible.

So that they now wish to return to ranch instead of the church.

So that they’ll rely on the Cheddars instead of Marie and Lian.

And Lian’s plan is successful. Now, whenever they think of “home,” they would think of the ranch instead of the church. Whenever they burst into tears, the first person they run to for comfort isn’t Marie nor Lian but one of the Cheddars.

But there are times when they’ll suddenly remember and miss Lian, who they look up to as much as they would their parents.

Then, whilst on the brink of crying, they’ll ask me to bring Lian to the ranch.

“Today’s… No, tell them I’ll be visiting tomorrow in the afternoon.”

“Tomorrow afternoon? Got it.”

“Okay,” says Lian as he nods and shoots me a smile. “Thanks for dropping by, Alfred. That was all I had to tell you.”

“I see.”

Lian slightly bows his head and buries his face in my neck, seeming a little embarrassed.

But despite his shyness, he proceeds to wrap his arms around me in a timid manner, his hands resting on my back. And it’s as if extreme joy has been injected into my veins.

“…Are you busy today?”

“Not really. I only have two more deliveries for today. Once I complete those, I’ll be heading back to the ranch.”

“Oh… Good luck.”

“How about you? Do you plan on visiting the church today?”

“I’ll first stop by the town to order some materials… Then in the afternoon, I’ll be paying the church a visit.”

“I see.”

Even after graduation, Lian still maintains his usual routine of stopping by the church.

Lian once told me this is because of the large surge of new orphans recently. Apparently, it’s hard for Marie to manage them all alone, so he lends her a helping hand whenever he can.

“…Then I’ll also go to the church later to help out, once I’m free.”

The hands on my back twitch. The silver-haired man in my arms nods and whispers, “…Okay.”

For some reason, I can sense happiness in Lian’s voice.

I really want him. With his every call of my name, the urge to take him away from this place wells up inside me.

I want him so much, it’s unbearable.

Is there a way to take him and make him only mine?

It’s easy to kidnap him then run away. But we will definitely be pursued, and over time, being on the run will only grow harder on us.

Though I’m confident I can escape the village and even the country, Lian will surely be in tears over it.

I certainly don’t want that.

…Come to think of it, Lian once told me about a small but nice vacant house by the lakeside. Around the southern part of the village, He said he wanted to live there someday.

If I buy that house, will he be willing to live there with me?

Will he stay with me forever there?

Ah, what about taking him on an endless journey, never to return to the village?

…No way. That’s the same as a kidnapping. He’ll cry mid-journey too… Well, I can just make that my last resort.

What else—

Then I feel soft, even breaths on my ear.

I turn to Lian, slightly in a panic, only to see that he has once again fallen asleep, releasing soft breaths of comfort.

While asleep, his face looks innocent and completely at ease. Just like a young child’s.

I breathe out a small sigh.

I should think this through. Thoroughly and carefully.

I have plenty of time anyway.

Until then, I will continue to make lots of promises with him, just like earlier. Hold onto him so that he won’t escape from me.

This is good enough.

…At this moment, the words of that star reader don’t seem all that bad.

That woman with black hair told me that he was the single gentle little star that continued to orbit me. That cared about me, that illuminated my path.

As such, this star should be mine.

Lian is my only star, so I don’t plan on handing him to anyone… not even to the Goddess.

“Rest well, Lian.” Then I kiss him, gently so that I won’t wake him up. After shaking off my reluctance to part with him, I pull the quilt up to Lian’s shoulders, then leave the room without a sound.

Ahh, I want to touch him some more.

I want to ensure that he remains by my side.

Let me try asking whether we can have a repeat of that night soon.

Yeah, let’s do that.

…Once Lian’s in a good mood.

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