Nurturing the Hero to Avoid Death - Chapter 23.4

Alfred stares down at me, and lets out a chuckle. Then he flashes a broad smile, looking quite jubilant.

“Your face is completely red.”

“Stu—s-shu—wha? What are, you—”

I’m embarrassed to the point that my whole body freezes and I am reduced to stutters. Al again takes advantage of it, and we end up kissing again.

In spite of my attempts to push against his chest, to turn away from the kiss, he immediately gives chase and recaptures my own, intent on not letting me escape. He even lifts my chin, allowing his tongue to boldly enter my mouth.

Flustered, I try to push back his tongue with mine. But this only gives him the opportunity to entangle our tongues, prompting shivers to run through my body. At this point, I’m already starting to lose my mind.

I don’t even realize that I’ve closed my eyes until I open them. And after doing so, I happen to meet his indigo gaze, narrowed and darkened..

His feverish gaze awakens me to the severity of our current situation.

The hands around the back of my waist burn to the touch.

As I wonder how to put a stop on this, someone knocks twice on the door.

“Excuse me, Lian-sama, Fram-sama. Granza-sama is about to arrive.”

“Ngh!!!”

As soon as I hear Lowendal’s voice I flinch.

Alfred’s hold also slackens for a moment.

A chance! I immediately remove my hands from his embrace and grab Alfred’s ears, tightening my grasp and twisting them, making sure to do it as painfully as possible.

“Ouch…” Alfred groans, his intense expression faltering.

No matter how strong someone becomes, their ears will remain soft. They will always be a human’s weak point!

Looks like it’s really painful, even for the hero. Alfred’s face contorts in a grimace, and his eyes moisten a bit with tears. What an unusual sight.

Red finger marks, caused by my squeezing and pulling, are visible on both of his ears. Serves you right!

As his hold weakens even further from the pain, I shove away Alfred’s left arm and jump back. He tries to grab me again, but I leap sideways, evading his hands.

I make a dash for the door. “I–I understand! W-we will be going soon, so tell him to wait for a little while!” I reply to Lowendal, who should be on the other side of the door.

“Understood, Lian-sama. We will be waiting for you at the parlor, so please come when you have finished preparing.”

“Yeah! Got it!”

I press my ears to the door, listening to his fading footsteps. Thankfully, Lowendal didn’t open the door. I don’t want him to see my current state.

Damn it!

Seriously, I can’t stay unguarded around this guy!

He does all sorts of surprising things. It’s very bad for my heart!

Can’t this brat be more mindful about where we are right now?!

I take a deep breath and somehow manage to calm myself. Then I glare at Alfred.

A deep frown remains on his face as he rubs his slightly swollen ears.

“Y-you deserved it! Stupid! Idiot! Fool! Perverted demon! Molester! Instructor Granza will beat s-someone like you black and blue! Instructor Granza’s strength is terrifying. You definitely can’t land even a single solid hit on him. So don’t run away after getting cold feet!”

“…What?” Alfred asks in a low voice, unable to overlook that hit to his pride. Just as expected.

I only give him my usual cheeky stare, squinting my eyes and raising my chin. And I snort as loud as I can.

Watching as Alfred approaches me with a sullen face, I immediately open the door, sprinting along the hallway and towards the stairs.

“Hey, wait! Lian!”

I pretend not to hear him, never glancing back as I ran.

It’s not because I’m scared of him or anything.

Oh, who am I kidding? I really am scared!

As soon as I step into the large parlor, Lowendal notices my presence. And while still holding a silver tray in hand, he bows at a perfect ninety degrees.

There is a low partition screen decorated with rattan plaits. Behind it, a sofa and a low table for visitors.

And on that sofa sits a man.

Upon catching sight of his practically-white sandy hair, I run up to him. “Good afternoon, Instructor Granza! Sorry for the wait!”

“Oh, Lilie! I just arrived, so don’t worry,” he says, standing up from the sofa. The tall man then waves his hand in a greeting, a smile on his face.

His eyes, which are the same sandy color as his hair, narrow. The right corner of his mouth slants upwards, giving him a bold look.

Instructor Granza gives off the impression of someone vacationing in a tropical country. His skin is tan, a sign that he has been exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Plus, he carries a bright and cheerful presence.

His clothes are just as bright.

The knapsack hanging from his right shoulder is neon yellow. His large short-sleeved shirt has large hibiscus prints, his undershirt a brilliant sky blue. Moreover…

His knee-length shorts.

His gold and silver double-chain necklace.

His favorite pair of black rugged leather ankle boots.

The two longsword sheaths hanging from his waist. One orange and the other blue…

The green ribbon tying his silky shoulder-length hair up…

There’s also a pair of black sunglasses perched on his head. The type often worn by people enjoying their vacation on the southern island.

The combination of all these intensely blinding colors are too much for my eyes. Every time I look at him, they start throbbing.

Although Instructor Granza has a youthful appearance, he is already a 40-year-old uncle.

Instructor Granza shifts his gaze to somewhere behind me and breaks into a grin. “…Oh? Lilie, that guy behind you… that’s the one you mentioned before, right?”

Following his line of sight, I finally realize that Alfred has been standing behind me. His eyes are narrowed as he stares at Instructor Granza.

His gaze seems harsher than usual. Even the atmosphere around him is a bit tense.

His stare never leaves Instructor Granza, somewhat akin to the gaze of a wary animal.

Well, Alfred does act like an animal sometimes. Perhaps his instincts sense danger from Instructor Granza.

“Ah, yes. This is Alfred Fram. I hired him as an escort for the Owen family but he is still inexperienced, so I hope Instructor Granza can give him guidance—”

“Hmm… Are you the one who broke my favorite disciple Lilie’s winning streak?”

Wait, is he even listening to my explanation?

Instructor Granza raises his chin and strokes it, keeping his eyes on Alfred.

“Well, despite being just a brat, aren’t you making a pretty good expression right now? Fine. Since you’ve defeated my cute disciple, show me your abilities. Follow me.”

After beckoning Alfred, Instructor Granza navigates through the hallways to the mansion backyard with ease. Like he is very familiar with the layout of the area.

Well, he certainly isn’t listening to me anymore. This idiotic battle-crazed maniac.

“I guess it can’t be helped… Let’s go, Alfre—”

“Lilie.”

“Ha?”

“That guy called you Lilie.”

“Ahh, that? It’s embarrassing, right… I’ve wanted him to stop calling me that for a long time. He gave me that nickname during the start of my training with him, when I was still small. He’s definitely messing with me, you know?”

“Hmm.” Alfred only gives a vague response as he walks to the courtyard, eyes still narrowed and fixed on Instructor Granza’s figure.

He gives off an unusually intimidating aura. Not only that, he seems to be on high alert.

Maybe I was right before. Maybe he did sense danger from Instructor Granza.

Or perhaps… They don’t get on well because they’re both the independent type? What is this, likes repel each other?

Hmm, I don’t get it.

As I follow the two, I let out a big sigh, somehow feeling drained already.

Jealous Alfred vs Wild (?) Instructor… who will win!? I’m giving my bets to Lian, even if he’s not fighting in the match. Lian, you can do it! (???)

If you enjoy reading this novel, please consider supporting me on Patreon and get to read advanced draft chapters ahead from the schedule, or you can do one-time donations on my ko-fi! This small cute translator needs water to grow~

I’m also starting a new project, you can check it out here! MC is the childhood friend of the hero (ML), and he died protecting ML when a demon came to their village to kill ML. I can’t help but to wonder if Alfred is going to become cold and unfeeling if he lost Lian, so that novel succeeded in making me cry a little… It’s a cute story, though. A happy ending too! MC is reincarnated to Ilya, the son of a tavern’s owner. I’m really looking forward to reach the part where MC meets ML again. Overall, it’s a bittersweet story. ML might look like a super yandere from the cover, but he’s just a very sweet man! I’m really happy if you guys can give it a try~