Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 15

Chapter 15

"What does that have to do with anything? Sure, there are people around to protect me, but there's no guarantee they'll definitely keep me safe. Think about it. What if I'm alone and get attacked? What if I'm in the bathroom and get attacked?! What if I'm sleeping and get attacked?!"

"Why do you assume you'll be attacked? Do you have something to hide?"

"Listen carefully, Kali."

I clicked my tongue and firmly gripped Kali's frail shoulders with both hands. He glared at my hands with displeasure, but I ignored him and continued.

"The world isn't that easy. Where's the guarantee that some crazy person won't suddenly attack me while I'm walking down the street? You have to prepare for danger in advance."

That's right. Absolutely right.

Our whole house could go up in flames because of some revenge-obsessed madman's grudge.

"What does that have to do with what you're doing right now?"

"Huh? My club doesn't break, remember? It won't break from magic or physical attacks! So what can I do with it? I'll knock away every single attack that comes at me! Everything! Every single one!"

I raised my club triumphantly toward the sky, like a lion cub.

My weapon is this club alone. I can summon and dismiss it freely, and it's a sturdy club that never breaks!

Kali was speechless at my bold declaration. I dragged him back to the pitching machine.

"You're helping me while also practicing your mana control, got it? I'll definitely repay this favor!"

"Ha... Do whatever you want."

And so, Kali and I began our hellish training to master the pitching machine.

Of course, I was the one getting pummeled.

The next morning, I went down to the dining room half-asleep and found a welcome face.

"Dad?"

It had been two weeks since I'd last seen him. He usually visited the villa every three or four days, but lately he'd been busy and couldn't come.

Sitting comfortably at the table with a relaxed expression, Dad seemed to have finished his work. I ran to him with all my might. He stood up from his seat and welcomed me.

"My daughter!"

His disheveled silver hair fluttered freely. Dad smiled softly and lifted me up, and I gasped and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Ack! Dad!"

"It's been too long, hasn't it?"

I pressed my palm against Dad's messy hair and replied.

"Is all your busy work done?"

"Yes. I'll be staying at the villa for a while."

Dad sat me next to Sier and returned to his seat at the head of the table. Across from me sat Kali, who was looking at me and Dad with a somewhat bewildered expression.

I mouthed "what's wrong?" but he just looked away as if nothing was the matter.

"Dad, have you said hello to Kali?"

I asked Dad, who was now eating alongside Kali as naturally as if it were routine.

"Of course. We even went for a morning walk together. But Kalipr, you should sleep a little more if you want to grow tall. Lambert was taller than me, you know."

At Dad's words, Kali gave a small nod. It seemed he still needed more time to get used to the Algenprina household.

"Hari. I heard you've been practicing magic with Kalipr lately. How's it going?"

"Uhhh... Not great..."

Of course, I'd improved compared to the beginning. I could hit the pebbles about seven out of ten times now. But just hitting them wasn't enough. I wanted to hit home runs every single time.

I wanted to toss the bat and run like a batter who'd just hit a grand slam!

"Why don't you ask Sier to help you? Now that you're always with Kalipr, Sier seems quite lonely."

"That's right, Hari. Are you going to abandon your brother just because you made a new friend?"

Sier leaned against me with a pitiful expression and whined.

"What? What are you talking about? I stopped by your room every time before going to the lake, but you were always asleep. You're always up late—mmph!"

Sier quickly covered my mouth. I'd been curious about what he did at night that kept him from sleeping and left him passed out all afternoon, but I'd never pressed him.

Sier smiled awkwardly at Dad, but Dad's brow was furrowed.

"Sier, are you forcing yourself to stay awake again?"

"That's not it, Father. I've long since graduated from the days when I'd accidentally cover the whole house in fog in my sleep. It's just..."

"Just?"

"I'm researching a topic that's interesting right now..."

Unlike Irein, Sier was thoroughly a brain-oriented type.

Oh, so he's just so absorbed in studying that he loses track of time, stays up all night, and sleeps in the morning?

"After breakfast, Sier, stop by the office for a moment."

"Yes..."

Dad particularly disliked Sier staying up all night. When Sier was young, he'd once had to force himself to stay awake because his fog would run rampant the moment he fell asleep, as if it had been waiting for that exact moment.

Having not visited the villa for two weeks, Dad seemed to have many questions and took turns asking each of us throughout breakfast.

He also asked Kali a few things, and Kali, now somewhat accustomed, answered without much awkwardness.

"I'm relieved that Hari seems to be taking good care of you. If anything is uncomfortable, don't hesitate to speak up."

"Yes."

As we were finishing our meal, Dad asked me about the pitching machine with a curious expression.

"I hear Irein made something interesting."

"I asked Brother to make it for practice..."

"Hmm, how about we have a magic exploration session together for the first time in a while?"

"Great! Absolutely!"

I was planning to ask Dad about Kali's mana control anyway!

Kali had become quite skilled at infusing mana into the pitching machine and regulating it. But there was one small problem.

When Kali created flames, whether they went out or not was... random. Pu ha ha.

Also, the fact that his magic activated automatically whenever he got startled was a problem. Thanks to that, our practice spot had to stay near the lake.

Just in case I needed to throw Kali into the water.

After finishing breakfast, we agreed to meet at the fountain in the rear garden an hour later.

I'd insisted it absolutely had to be the fountain, and Kali's ears turned red as he glared at me. I popped a dessert fruit into my mouth and gave him a smug grin—the hand holding his teacup trembled.

Teasing him was so much fun.

For the lesson with Dad, I'd already moved the pitching machine from the lakeside to the fountain in the rear garden.

Come to think of it, the mana stone has lasted quite a while. Is it because all it does is launch small pebbles? Just then, I heard a whimper from somewhere.

"Grrr."

Ah, that sound!

"Bibi! Bibi, where are you? Come here!"

The white puppy that had followed Kali around became our family dog from the day he arrived at the villa with him.

The puppy's name was decided as Bibi. I'd strongly insisted that since he brought him, he should name him, and Kali had thrown out the name offhandedly.

With a panting sound, Bibi came running like a flash. Bibi, who had grown noticeably in just a few days, jumped up with sparkling blue eyes.

"Upsy-daisy!"

I scooped Bibi up. His paws were still oversized compared to his body, so he was probably going to grow quite large. By then, I probably wouldn't be able to carry him like this.

"Why are you so much heavier now, huh? Did you get lots of tasty treats?"

The servants adored Bibi, so he was always getting snacks. I gently patted his fluffy, round belly with my palm and sat down on the grass.

"Bibi?"

Kali must have gone to his room and come right back—he was looking around, calling Bibi's name.

"Kali! Over here!"

Seeing me sitting on the ground, Kali frowned.

"You'll get dirty. Get up."

"It's just for a moment, what's the harm."

Kali paced in place for a bit, then sat down across from me and carefully stroked Bibi, who was blinking slowly as if getting sleepy.

Sometimes, looking at Kali, it was hard to figure out what kind of environment he'd grown up in.

Aside from his way of speaking, he always maintained proper posture no matter where he was, and he handled utensils without any awkwardness. Had he remembered and never forgotten the basic etiquette he'd learned as a young child?

"What?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh, nothing."

If I asked now, not only would I not get an answer, but his wariness would probably increase—so I let it go.

We sat in silence for a while, just petting Bibi. As I was scratching behind his ears, I saw Dad approaching from a distance.

Where had he been rolling around? Why does he look so disheveled today?

"You're here early. Is that puppy Bibi?"

"He's super cute!"

I lifted Bibi up and held him out to Dad. Dad examined Bibi with both hands, then looked into his bright blue eyes.

"He's so gentle! Cute, right?"

"Hmm."

When we return to the ducal estate, I want to take Bibi with me—is that possible?

Among noble families, some kept cats, but it was rare to keep a dog as a pet, so Dad's permission as the Duke was essential.

"He's cute, right? Right?!"

I tugged at Dad's sleeve and shook it back and forth, making him sway like a scarecrow.

"Whoa there. Dad's going to fall."

"So, Dad... can we take him with us when we go back to the ducal estate?"

"Where did you get him?"

"When I met Kali, he followed him here!"

Dad carefully knelt on one knee to meet Kali's eyes. Kali took a step back and looked down at Bibi in Dad's hands.

"I'm curious what Kali thinks."

"Sir?"

"Would you like to take him?"

Kali seemed surprised by Dad's question and didn't answer for a long time. I nodded vigorously from behind Dad and signaled to Kali in a small voice.

"You're not going to take him? You even named him! Look how much he's staring at you!"

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