Inviting Anima to eat, a little bit forcefully, we walked down the main street together.
[Would you like to eat something, Anima?]
[N- No, I would eat what Master decides for me!]
[……Do you have any favorite food, Anima?]
[My favorite food huh…… I can eat anything, but if I had to choose…… I’d say fish dishes, I guess?]
……Was it because she’s a former Black Bear? I certainly have an image of bears eating salmon, so I guess it makes sense that she likes fish dishes.
[Alright then, let’s go eat some fish dishes!]
[Eh? N- No, I will just……]
[I’m the one who wants to eat fish…… There’s no problem with that, right?]
[Uuuuhh, y- yes.]
It was obvious that Anima would refrain with that flow of conversation, so as usual, I just forcibly made a decision.
Today’s main goal is to let Anima stretch her wings enough…… So, I want to make sure that I have a firm grasp of her preferences here.
I remembered that Kuro had told me about a number of good restaurants around here in the past, but while we’re walking down the busy street at lunchtime, thinking about which restaurant to go to, I bumped into a man and woman who was walking in front of me.
[Ah, I’m sorry.]
[No, I’m sorry too.]
We exchanged some light apologies, and were about to continue on our way, but at that moment…… I noticed that Anima, who should have been beside me wasn’t there, and at the same time, I heard a low, intimidating voice from behind.
[……You b*stards dare bumping into Master, and that kind of apology…… is worth death! Let me see your empty heads rub against the ground——- [ Anima, stop!!! ] ———Eh? Ah, yes!]
I forgot!? Her attitude towards the servants in the mansion had softened due to the many times I had warned her so much that my mouth got tired of it but…… Come to think of it, Anima had such a stern part of her!
Stopping Anima, who was about to hit him, I hurriedly bowed her head.
[I’m sorry about our Anima!]
[N- No, it’s alright.
Fortunately, thanks to the fact that I interrupted Anima before she acted forcefully, I was able to get them to forgive her for trying to assault them.
[Anima! That’s no good, threatening people like that……]
[However, those b*stards harmed Master……]
[No, it was just a bump in the shoulder, you know!? I was also being careless, but anyway, don’t try to do anything!]
[Y- Yes…… I’m sorry.]
Hearing my words, Anima looked crestfallen and told me an honest apology.
D- Did I scold her a little too harshly? N- No, this is the part where I need to caution her more!!! Unnn…… However, if I don’t make some follow up here…… She would be pitiful.
[……I’m really glad that Anima is moving for me. However, let’s be a bit more moderate about it, okay?]
[Yes.]
[Unnn. However, thank you, Anima. For being angry for me.]
[Y- Yes!]
Lightly stroking Anima’s head as I said this, she nodded, her expression brightening up.
Unnn, well, there are some troubling parts of her…… In the end, Anima is thinking of me more than anything else, and that honestly makes me happy.
Well, I think I will have to warn her when she rampages again……
After a bit of trouble, we successfully reached a restaurant that serves fish dishes and ate lunch with Anima.
Anima’s usual stern actions make her slightly seem like someone who has muscles for brains…… but she has good table manners and conducts her meals with elegance.
In fact, Anima seems to be very smart, and since she has come to live in Lilia-san’s mansion, she’s been studying quite diligently and she’s using what she’s learned there to help me.
One thing that’s especially helpful is her, organizing my letters…… I’ve become a bit more famous since the Sacred Tree Festival, and I still receive letters from many nobles.
Thanks to Alice, I don’t get weird letters anymore, but I still get a lot of invitations to tea parties and gatherings.
However, those kinds of letters rarely get into my hand…… That’s because the letters that were addressed to me were checked by Anima first, and other than those that were personally sent to me…… The ones I don’t want to attend, such as invitations to tea parties, Anima writes back to decline for me.
I was shown a little bit of that letter before, and it feels like she had learned a lot, as the contents were very polite while gently declining their invitation. Having her do that really helps me.
I’ve heard that Lunamaria-san and the other servants have taught her how to write letters, and I think Anima is someone who can do it if she thinks about it, and she’s someone I can really rely on.
[……Anima, how does it taste?]
[Yes, it’s very good.]
[I see, that’s great.]
I wanted to properly thank Anima for all the hard work she did on a regular basis, so this outing was just great for me.
As I was thinking about this, I saw some sauce on Anima’s mouth while she was eating, so I called out to her while holding a napkin in my hand.
[……wait, Anima. Don’t move.]
[Eh?]
[You have some sauce on your mouth…… Yes, got it.]
[Whauu!?]
[Whauu?]
[W- Wha— I didn’t say anything!? F- For me t- t- to trouble Master! My apologies!!!]
[……U- Unnn. You don’t have to mind it that much, you know?]
After lunch, I continued to take Anima around the place.
I think we had quite a good time…… enjoying our time shopping and standing around eating food we bought from stalls.
And just as the surroundings were starting to be dyed in madder red, I decided to go back to the mansion with Anima, and now we were walking side by side in the setting sun.
[……Anima, I’ve taken you around a lot, aren’t you tired?]
[Y- Yes! There’s no problem…… Rather, ummm, it was really fun for me.]
[I see, that’s good to hear…… Did that “make your shoulders relax” a bit?]
[ ! ? ]
Hearing my words, when I told her with a gentle smile, Anima stopped in her tracks with her wide open.
[……As I thought, Master…… has noticed huh?]
[……No, I haven’t figured out the details. It’s just that I’ve been wondering if you’re “in a hurry” lately……]
Yes, in fact, the reason I took Anima out this time was for another major reason besides the fact that she hadn’t taken a break at all.
Anima is a very serious, hard-working girl…… But even if I take that into account, the emotions conveyed by Anima through my Sympathy Magic lately had revealed a sense of frustration.
She was being tensed about something…… I didn’t know the reason why, but I was hoping that this outing would be a good change of pace.
When she heard my words, Anima remained silent for a while…… And lifting her hand up to her chest and looking at that hand, she quietly muttered.
[……Am I…… being helpful to you…… Master?]
[……Eh?]
With those words, my Sympathy Magic senses Anima’s strong anxiety.
After looking at her expression, looking as if she’s frail, I was reflexively speechless. After glancing at me, Anima continues to speak.
[……What I can only be proud of compared to others…… Only my physical strength…… However, even this strength of mine…… It won’t even reach close to “Alice-dono”‘s feet……]
[……Anima.]
[……I thought that maybe…… Master doesn’t need me…… I was afraid of that, and I tried to branch out to see if I could help Master in other things. However, my abilities couldn’t match the professionals…… Being useless like this…… I wonder what I should do…… I didn’t know what to do……]
[……………….]
Anima’s voice is trembling.
……She utterly hated her own stupidity. She’s a tenacious and diligent woman, but she’s also holding unto her own insecurities for a long time…… Why didn’t I notice it sooner?
Now that she mentioned it, it’s certainly true. Anima started to learn all kinds of things when Alice became my guard…… D*mn it…… I’m really thickheaded……
No, regretting will be for later. Right now, there are things that should be done before that.
Thinking that, I approached Anima, who was hanging her head down, and hugged her body, wrapping her in my arms.
[Eh? M- Master!?]
[……I’m sorry. I didn’t realize at all that Anima…… that Anima was feeling anxious about that. I’m sorry, for being a stupid master.]
[N- No!? That’s wrong! This was because my mind was weak……]
[Come to think of it, I didn’t put it into words properly huh…… Anima isn’t useless.]
[ ! ? ]
[You’ve always worked hard for me and tried to do things I wasn’t good at…… Anima is a girl I can really count on.]
[……Mas…… ter?]
Yes, it was easy for me to wipe away Anima’s anxiety. All I had to do was say my heartfelt feelings…… And yet, this stupid me was really slow in doing it.
I felt really confused the first time I met her, and I had to hold my head once or twice because of her personality…… But before I knew it, Anima, who was always so straightforward and earnest, and she who adored me wholeheartedly, had become a very big person in my heart.
So much so that I felt it was natural to ask her to do something for me……
[……For me, Anima is indispensable. That’s why, don’t say such sad thing about you being useless.]
[Ahhh…… Aaaaaaahhh……]
As gently as possible, holding her body that was smaller than I expected within my arms, I say the things I couldn’t say before.
The first weakness shown by the reliable Anima, so that I could firmly receive it……
[……I think I’m lesser than half the man I am as your master, and I can’t give precise instructions to Anima who is trying to be my servant…… I’m sure that I won’t be able to assign work to you well in the future.]
[……Uuuuu…… Auuu……]
[Our master-servant relationship is difficult for me, and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it…… However, errr, this is just something I heard other people say…… but for me, my relationship with Anima…… Ummm, I’d like it if our relationship would be something like a family.]
[ ! ? ]
Yes, I don’t think I’ll ever be a great master. After all, the ideal relationship I have in mind is one that is as close to family like Kuro has.
However, if it’s possible, I would like to have that kind of relationship with Anima.
[That’s why, if you’re fine even if I’m this unreliable…… Would you continue helping me in the future?]
[ ~ ~ ! ? Y- Yes! Myself…… My everything…… My future is all for Master! If Master allows it, until this body crumbles to dust…… Please let me serve you.]
[Unnn. I’ll be in your care……]
[Yes…… Yes…… Master…… I…… I am…… Having Master as my lord…… is my happiness.]
In the dusk, a silent sob echoes…… And along with those gentle tears, I think it has also washed away all the anxiety she had been feeling.
Dear Mom, Dad———- In the beginning, I was bewildered and there were times when I felt troubled. However, I think I have always been encouraged by her honest vigorousness. I don’t really know what a master-servant relationship is, but the fact that Anima is like family to me——– and say that without hesitation, is something I’m sure of.
<Afterword>
In fact, the reason why Anima hadn’t appeared much lately was that since she found out that Alice was the Phantasmal King, she was desperately studying to be useful to Kaito other than for her physical strength…… How lovable.
? ? ? : [ T- This is…… As expected, this is something I can just joke around…… I mean, I never heard that this is Anima arc, you know!? This almost sounds like a proposal, you know!? Eh? There’s still a separate Anima arc prepared for her!? Seriously? ]
T/N: 2/146