Extra Works Hard

The boy was one of Hazard’s colleagues. As a result, I was able to meet all the main characters in this villa. The two sat facing each other by the sunny window. It was the place where Nathan had sat a little while ago. The boy waved a bell on one side, saying he needed something to drink.

‘Oh, there was that. I didn’t even think to do that.’

Feeling fresh, Nathan stared blankly at the boy. Soon after, a user knocked on the door. It was not Vascent. Only after asking the maid for tea did the boy look back at Nathan and say,

“I’m Amania. Nice to meet you! I’m 17 years old and from the Spirit department!”

Every time he shook his head, his fluffy ears could be seen slightly through the cherry blossom-colored hair that looked as sweet as cotton candy. The boy with round light blue eyes had said earlier that he was an Elf named Sippi Amania.

Amania had a last name, but he was not an aristocrat. Here, the castle is the exclusive property of the aristocracy, and the reason why this elf has the surname and part of it was “Nia,” which was commonly used by the elves in ‘Hazard’, outside the woods. Previously, they were given gender on behalf of their race. One of Nathan’s friends would have been the Elf that Hazard happened to meet and brought on a vacation trip with his friends in the original book.

“My name is Nathan Norbert. I am from the Magic department and I’m the same age as Hazard.”

“Nathan Norbert? Can I call you Nathan?”

“Whatever you prefer.”

“Then Nathan! Isn’t this side more familiar? You can call me Amani! Friendly friends are my friends!”

“Alright.”

As in fantasy novels, Hazard had many races besides humans. Starting with the Elves sitting in front of them, Goblins and Ogres, which are often called monsters in fantasy, were also species respected as intellectual beings here.

Of course, it cannot be said that there is no discrimination toward them at all, but the treatment of being classified as monsters like in other fantasy novels has rarely been seen these days, except in some extreme cases such as harming humanity.

Then you might suddenly be curious here. So what is an ogre? In a simple analogy, they look more like creatures from science fiction or creatures than monsters from fantasy.

Ogres are living beings, but their appearance is very strange, making one wonder if they are truly living beings, causing discomfort the moment one sees them. There seems to be intelligence in them, but communication with humans doesn’t work. Nathan also wondered how ogres looked until he first saw one here. It was easy to imagine common monsters from fantasy, but it was written that they looked very different, with some accounts describing them as grotesque, full of tentacles, dozens of eyes, or wriggling inanimate objects.

Then he had a chance to practice at the academy and see an ogre in person. At that time, he thought it looked like a creature from science fiction. Is it because this place is trapped in the framework of “fantasy,” or is it that the ogre he actually faced gave him a sense of physiological rejection and discomfort as soon as he saw it?

Why do they exist in this world? It was almost questionable whether Goblins and Ogres, who were hostile to humans before the demons appeared, could be considered relatively ordinary monsters.

The reason why such monsters lived with humans was because of dungeons and demons. It would be easy to understand if it was in line with the reason why dragons taught magic to humans.

When Nathan recalled the ogres, he put an end to the thoughts wandering from place to place and focused on the conversation with Amani again.

“Well, it’s going to rain in a little bit.”

Putting down the teacup he was holding, Amani said, “You’ve never been here before, have you?”

“Well, no!”

“It rains a lot in Sentiar. But this summer, it hasn’t rained much. I think it will rain soon, but… we still have a few days left.”

“I see.”

‘Thank God’, Nathan murmured to himself. Nathan leaned back in his chair as if he were slumping down since the original work had not yet started. He still had time. It was fortunate that he didn’t have to rush to the village.

“Are you looking out for when it rains?”

“It’s just… It’s hard to enjoy things when it rains.”

“That’s true. It’s a big deal if the sea water rises and a tsunami occurs! That would be the worst summer vacation ever!”

Amani pouted his lips and suddenly looked at Nathan’s face and said,

“But Nathan, what’s wrong with your face? What happened to your arms and legs? I heard you were in the same room as Hazard. Did he hit you?”

“No, it’s not that. Please don’t have such a strange misunderstanding. Whew… I don’t know how many times I’ve explained.”

Nathan sighed and swept his face with his hand. He drank the tea that tasted piercingly cold for no reason.

“…Then?”

“It’s because I fell out of bed and hit myself a little hard.”

“Ah, that must hurt! Let’s ask for a carpet in this room. Something soft. Then it’ll be okay if you fall again!”

Nathan just laughed at his innocent remarks.

“Can you predict when it will rain?”

“Huh? Sure! It’s very simple for me!”

Amani chattered excitedly to himself. He was talkative, so Nathan replied with a few words while Amani spoke a lot. Then, Amani suddenly said, “I’m going to go now, you should rest!” and left the room without looking back.

As he left the room, silence filled the room in an instant. Through the dead silence came the sound of the chair scraping against the floor. The chair Nathan was sitting on made a sound in protest as he slouched helplessly. He hadn’t realized it, but he seemed quite tired after talking to Amani. The fatigue that he had forgotten suddenly washed over him.

As Amani said, taking the medicine soon made him feel sleepy. Even during the conversation with Amani, he had wondered how many times he had stifled yawns. Amani probably noticed it and left.

The shadows cast by the swaying leaves hung over his body, shaking whenever the wind blew. It felt strangely cozy, perhaps because of the gentle sunlight. Nathan sat down right away without adjusting his posture, lying down as if he were on a chair. His eyelids gradually closed in the quiet morning air and the effects of the medicine.

“Should I take a nap? I still have time…”

But when he opened his eyes again, it was already three days later.

Everything was hazy.

“Breathe, Nathan!”

Hazard said urgently, releasing his grip on Nathan’s ankle. Only then did Nathan manage to catch his breath.

After panting heavily for a while, he opened his mouth.

“But… Hazard, I told you not to do it. Oh, my- Cough cough!”

“I’m sorry.”

Hazard didn’t know what to do, hurriedly patting Nathan’s dry back, as if he had swallowed his saliva incorrectly. Nathan could feel the dry back trembling under his palm.

Perhaps he had been doing that for a while, Nathan, who had been holding his breath as if gripping the bed sheet, looked up at Hazard.

“I was wrong. Are you okay?”

Hazard, aware of his mistake, furrowed his brows and tried to appear as pitiful as possible. His pale face was as red as his neck. There were tears welling up in the corners of Nathan’s eyes, and as he blinked, the droplets fell. Hazard raised his hand and wiped Nathan’s eyes. The tears dripped down his fingers. Nathan rested his cheek in the palm of his hand.

“Azar.”

At that moment, everything seemed to slow down. Nathan’s red hair scattered across the white sheet, his face flushed all the way to his neck unlike usual, the teardrops around his eyes, and the warm breath that Hazard could feel against his palm. Nathan’s long, slender legs were revealed through the disheveled sheets as Hazard released his grip on Nathan’s ankle a while ago, filling Hazard’s view in the dim light, perhaps from the moonlight. Hazard unconsciously gulped.

At that moment, Hazard’s eyes opened wide.

All he could see was the crumpled bed sheet. Was it because he had just woken up or because of a dream? For a brief moment, his thoughts didn’t seem to work properly, and Hazard remained frozen like a statue. He stayed still for a while, lying on his stomach, and only jumped up much later. His eyes, raising his upper body while gripping the edge of the bed with both hands, darted downwards.

Phew, it’s quiet.

Luckily, it was quiet around him. Otherwise… Hazard would have been pulling his hair out.

Shaking off his bewildered thoughts, Hazard got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, taking off his shirt.