Chapter 11
11
Chapter 3. Because They're Cute (1)
"Why, why are you crying?"
The children, the twins, burst into tears at the same time, and the sound was no joke. My ears, my ears hurt. I could see Lloyd was about to yell at them, so I quickly grabbed their hands.
"Why, Leon..."
"Hng, hng..."
"Ian?"
"Huuuung..."
They were crying so sadly.
Because I was looking up at them, I could clearly see their red eyes and noses, and the tears streaming down like chicken droppings. Ack, they're even snotty.
"You, you, you..."
"Me? Me?"
"Because you said you, you don't like us! Huuung, Dad..."
"When did I say I didn't like you?"
"You said it! You said you didn't like us!"
Leon shouted. My ears are ringing, my eardrums are going to burst.
Ian was biting his lip as if holding something back while sobbing, and Leon, being more hot-tempered, kept muttering what was coming out of his mouth.
"No, you don't have to listen to Lloyd..."
"We're Lloyd too?"
"Ah, yeah... Anyway, you don't have to listen to him, I don't need a knight or anything..."
"......"
Leon and Ian simultaneously shut their mouths and glared at me.
What, what is it. Why are they like that...
"Because Mom and Dad will protect us."
"...Hic, hic..."
"Ian, why are you like this..."
When I called Ian's name exactly and pulled the hand I was holding, Ian's eyes widened as he shed tears. But that was only for a moment, Ian said, sniffling.
"You said you didn't need us."
"Well, you don't have to do it if you're being forced..."
"Who said they didn't like it?!"
"You said you'd see if I was worthy to serve!"
"Because we haven't even seen you yet! We want to see you!"
Leon interjected and shouted. Ouch, my ears hurt. I was about to let go of their hands and cover my ears, but they grabbed me. Both of them grabbed my hands at the same time.
After grabbing them tightly first, they subtly avoided my gaze when I stared at them.
'Ah, what is this.'
So cute.
I was slowly starting to find these crybaby twins cute. Not their appearance or looks, but their actions were cute.
"But, when did we ever say we didn't like you!"
"We never said we didn't like you..."
You guys, your pronunciation is off.
'Did I ever say I didn't like them...?'
I said I would see and judge for myself whether they were worthy to serve, but isn't that the same thing? But like the twins said, I don't think I ever directly said 'I don't like you,' so I hesitated for no reason.
"But Leon, you went 'hmph!' at me."
Mother interjected.
"Shana, can you do that again?"
"Do what?"
"What you did earlier. Do it, huh?"
No, why are these adults like this again. Can't they see I'm being serious with the twins? Mother and Dad, as well as Lloyd, were nodding with unpleasantly smiling faces. What, what is it...
'What are they talking about?'
So what I just did...
"Hmph?"
"Kyaaak, our Shana, you're so cute! Do it again, do it again!"
"Mom! I'm being serious right now!"
Some cooperation, please!
"Oh, yeah, our Shana was serious... Mom was too much, wasn't she. Our Shana must be sulking. Do 'hmph,' huh?"
"Ah, really!"
"Yeah, really, really. Oh my, Shana, can I kiss you?"
"No! You can't!"
I imitated Leon, snorted, crossed my arms, and turned my head away. It was a gesture to show Mother that I was angry, but unlike my expectations, Mother, Dad, and even Lloyd let out strange moans and knelt down.
What, why are they doing that.
"Shana, I have a favor to ask."
Dad approached with a very serious face and said.
"W-what is it..."
"Can you do 'hmph!' once a day?"
A man who looks like a romance novel's male lead, who doesn't laugh much outside of talking to Maria, making a "hmph!" sound like Leon had an indescribable destructive power.
That means I lost my words.
"If Shana does that, I think Dad can live longer..."
"Mom too, Mom too!"
"Shana, please."
These people are for real.
"No. I won't do it."
"Shana..."
"I'm talking to Leon and Ian."
Dad and Mother stepped back with very regretful faces. Leon and Ian seemed to have stopped crying because of their parents' interruption, and were just blinking with blank faces.
You were surprised. I was surprised too.
"Sorry, while you were talking..."
"Uh, huh? Ah, no, no..."
"Our Mom and Dad are a bit... a bit like that..."
Mother protested from the side, "Oh my, Shana! What do you mean, what's wrong with us!" but I ignored her.
"A bit, embarrassing..."
"...I understand, though."
Ian muttered quietly.
You understand how I feel about my parents being embarrassing, right? They're doing that because they love me too much, so I hope you generous guys understand.
Then Leon, remembering the topic that had been flowing away, took a big breath.
"Ah, I almost forgot! So we!"
"Leon, we can hear you even if you don't shout. I didn't forget."
When Ian pointed out, Leon pouted as if embarrassed. And he looked straight at me and said.
"Do you hate us?"
"I don't hate you, okay? What are you listening with."
"...Are you really 3 years old? It feels like I'm talking to Mother..."
"I don't hate you! But I hate people who hate me."
"......"
"I don't need you to be a knight like Lloyd said. You don't have to protect me. What am I, a glass bead..."
"You really..."
"You don't have to come to see me all hurt like this."
"It's nothing."
Leon bluffed. But it was a wound that needed a lot of Clay compared to the scratches.
He's still young.
"If it hurts, say it hurts."
"......"
"Don't hold it in. If you don't like it, say you don't like it."
I don't like rude little brats, but it breaks my heart to see little brats who are mature early or have excessive patience.
"You must be upset because Lloyd scolded you."
Lloyd protested, "I didn't say anything special..." I ignored him.
"You're still young..."
"I don't want to hear that from someone even younger."
"Was it hard?"
The twins closed their mouths tightly as if they had made a promise. After a moment of silence, Ian was the first to speak. Because their expressions and eyes were different, I could tell them apart even though they looked the same.
Ian's eyes, who had been looking down, were somehow determined.
"Who said they didn't like it. We never did it against our will."
Oh.
"If we really didn't like it, we wouldn't have done it!"
"Yeah, we were just curious!"
"We've been hearing your name so much since you were born that our ears are bleeding."
"So it's natural that we want to see you."
I became serious. That...
"You know, that... brainwash..."
"Brainwash?"
"No, that, brainwash!"
Brainwash...
Someone fix my pronunciation.
"I think you want to say brainwash?"
"Where did you learn such a word, Shana."
"I saw it in a book."
"Is there a fairy tale book that has the word brainwash in it..."
Let's just say there is.
"No! Training is training, and we'll see you with our own eyes!"
"We just saw each other..."
Has it been 15 minutes since we met...
"S-s-so, do you hate us?"
"No..."
"Do you hate us becoming your knights!"
Leon, who had been shouting, and Ian, who had been speaking fluently, both closed their mouths tightly. I glanced at the twins for no reason. Ian said in a quiet voice.
"Why do you hate it."
"First of all, I don't need a knight..."
"You never know."
"You guys are too young..."
"You're younger."
"I don't like being told to do things I don't want to do..."
"We never said we didn't like it."
"I'm not ready to take responsibility for anyone yet..."
Especially taking responsibility for the jobs of two children was a bit burdensome. The twins had very hurt expressions at my last words.
But that's the truth.
What would become of my adult face if I paraded these young children around as my knights. I didn't want them to get hurt while protecting me with swords. That's what knights who carry swords do.
"But if you're friends, I,"
"Just you wait."
"Huh?"
"Just you wait! I'll definitely become your knight!"
"Huh?"
Leon shouted and ran off somewhere. Ian, who was left alone, also looked straight at me and said.
"We're 7 years old."
"R-really?"
"It's the age where we want to do what we're told not to do."
You know that. How much did the twins' mother say that to them that they're saying that with their own mouths...
"Shana."
"U-uh?"
"We really just wanted to see you. The person we would serve."
Why are you suddenly calling me 'nim' (formal title)...
"Shana, don't underestimate our bloodline."
What kind of bloodline do you have... Are you Korean beef, why are you talking about bloodlines.
"I'll definitely become Shana's knight, so be prepared."
And Ian also turned around bravely and ran off somewhere. I blinked blankly, then looked at Dad. Dad, Mother, and Lloyd were about to burst into laughter as if they found this situation hilarious.
"Dad."
"U-uh, Shana..."
"Right now... what is Ian telling me to be prepared for...?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"......"
"Lloyd, your sons are really..."
"......"
"They're just like you when you were young..."
Eventually, Dad and Mother burst into laughter. Lloyd was shaking his head, holding his forehead.
Was it wrong to tell 7-year-old boys not to do something? Did I stimulate their nature to want to do what they're told not to do? Did I make a mistake?
Is becoming a knight something to be prepared for? Isn't it a good thing for me? No, it means I'll have to hire two people later...
I frowned seriously.
And leaving Dad and Mother, who were busy laughing, I grabbed Lloyd's pants.
"Yes, Shana."
Lloyd, who knelt down and met my gaze, had a slightly red face, as if he was quite embarrassed by his children's behavior. I called him closer.
And I whispered slightly in his ear.
"Lloyd."
"Yes, Shana."
"If you become a knight, how much do you get from Dad?"
"Pardon?"
"...I'm not confident in becoming rich..."
"......"
"How do I pay their salary..."
How do I hire two people.
