Level Down 52 (Patreon)

Volume 2 Chapter 10 - Youngest Child

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While feeling impressed by the orphanage's quick decision to sell the bed on the same day, prioritizing the cash needed to live a better life than a comfortable bed, Allen disassembled the bed to transport it.

“You sure are used to it.” (Matilda)

“Well, I did help with some carpentry for requests, and I've been doing house repairs for a long time, so I guess I’m decent.” (Allen)

As Allen worked without hesitation, Matilda was a little surprised and called out to him to which he replied without any concern.

Inwardly, he was quite flustered about Matilda's point, but since he was working with his head down while disassembling the bed, Matilda didn't notice that it was showing on his face a little.

In the first place, this bed was something made by Allen. The combinations and order in which they were assembled were already all in Allen's head. All he had to do was follow it backwards, so it was too easy for Allen to do now.

However, Matilda's words made Allen realize that there was no way a mere amateur could do that.

(It’d be unnatural if I lower my skill now, so I think I'll just do it carefully and take a little more time.) (Allen)

Thinking that, Allen slowed his pace a little, but he still finished disassembling the bed at a speed that was hard to believe for an amateur.

.

.

.

Allen had put the disassembled bed in a cart lent to him by the orphanage and pulled the cart to the Adventurers’ Guild employee housing where Matilda lived.

Once there, Allen took his time assembling the bed, taking care to do it slowly and carefully.

The employee housing that Matilda lives in that can be rented by guild employees is a small house that is mainly inhabited by single people.

It has a kitchen that has enough space for simple meals, in addition to two rooms large enough to be used as bedrooms.

The Adventurers’ Guild is not the only guild that provides housing for their employees.

Because this has the advantage of being able to contact all employees at once if something happens, and for the employees, they can rent rooms at much lower rents than the market rate.

Allen himself was not concerned with such things because he had his own house, so this was the first time he had ever been in such housing.

Also, the thought of entering the room of a woman living alone made him strangely nervous, and if he didn’t have the job of assembling the bed, he might have started acting suspiciously.

Somehow managing to complete the bed without any problems, ‘Would like to have some tea?’ Allen was invited by Matilda, which he declined and left her room in haste, citing that he wanted to return the cart they had borrowed.

Perhaps because she has a principle of not keeping a lot of things in the room, Matilda’s room was clean and tidy, yet Allen could feel the femininity here and there, such as the decorated flowers and the lace tablecloth. Above all, he noticed a smell that was different from his own house, and as soon as he thought that it belonged to Matilda, Allen felt a strange feeling of embarrassment.

“You don't have to come with me, you know. It's close to my house anyway.” (Allen)

“I'm the one who bought the bed after all.” (Matilda)

While having such a conversation, Allen and Matilda walked down the street. As daytime turned to evening, the two of them slowly made their way through the main street toward the orphanage, giving sidelong glances to people passing by as they shopped to prepare for dinner.

The closer they got to the orphanage, the fewer people there were, until finally they could no longer see anyone around them, that was when it happened.

“Um, Allen?” (Matilda)

“Nn?” (Allen)

Matilda called out to him in a reserved manner, and Allen nonchalantly looked at her. And when Matilda looked at him with a serious expression even as she was hesitating, Allen felt something shiver down his spine.

In a low voice that only the two of them can hear, Matilda began speaking.

“I have something I want to ask Allen...” (Matilda)

“Arree─, Len-nii is walking with a woman─!!” (???)

““Eh?”” (Allen & Matilda)

Hearing that voice interrupting Matilda's words coming from behind, the two of them turned around while raising their voices at the same time.

Ahead of their gazes was a girl who appeared to be a cheerful teenager, wearing a hooded cloak over a shirt and pants that looked easy to move around in.

Even with a body that wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call delicate, the girl was easily carrying a large backpack as she was walking towards the two of them. Her big and round brown eyes full of curiosity.

“Ah, I remember you, Matilda-san, right? The receptionist at the Adventurers' Guild.” (???)

“Eh, yes.” (Matilda)

The girl suddenly guessed her name, but even as Matilda was bewildered, not recognizing the girl at all, the girl started talking with a big smile on her face.

“Could it be, are you two in a romantic relationship? Well, saying it myself is kinda meh, but Len-nii is a good bargain, you know. He doesn't make a lot of money, but he's serious, kind, and good at taking care of others. He can do a full range of household chores like cooking and laundry, and he'll probably shower his love on the kids as well. As an ideal husband who takes care of the house...Ouch!” (???)

As the girl started promoting Allen so smoothly as if it was water running down a standing plank, Allen swung a chop at the girl's head, forcing her to stop talking.

The girl crouched down holding her head with teary eyes, and Allen let out a big sigh with a tired expression on his face as he looked down at her.

Unable to grasp the situation, Matilda looked back and forth between Allen and the girl, and asked Allen.

“Hey, this girl is...” (Matilda)

“This is my youngest sister, Rebecca.” (Allen)

As Allen said that with a frown on his face while putting one hand on her head, Rebecca, who was supposed to be crouching down with her head in her hands, ignored him and cheerfully stood up.

“Yes. I'm Rebecca, a little sister and a traveling merchant. By the way, I'm currently 18 years old, single, unmarried, and in love with work. My dream is to open my own shop in Lilac. Please patronize me.” (Rebecca)

“Eh, y-yes. Nice to meet you.” (Matilda)

Rebecca held out her hand with a broad charming smile, and Matilda, bewildered, put her hand on top of hers and shook it.

While receiving glances from the somewhat troubled Matilda, Allen smiled wryly as Rebecca had not changed at all.

“Rebecca. Leave it at that.” (Allen)

“Eeh, I want to talk more with my future sister-in-law.” (Rebecca)

“I-I’m not sister-in-law, yet...” (Matilda)

“Don't just jump to conclusions. I just went along with Matilda’s shopping today. She’s not even my lover, much less your sister-in-law.” (Allen)

At Rebecca's outlandish statement, Allen and Matilda opened their mouths at the same time, with only Matilda stopping mid-sentence.

Rebecca looked at Allen, who was smiling bitterly, and at Matilda, who had a somewhat complicated smile on her face, and then she raised the corner of her mouth just a little and beckoned Matilda over.

‘Me?’ When Matilda pointed at herself, Rebecca responded with a big nod, and when Matilda came closer to her, Rebecca put her face close to her ear.

“If you want to get Len-nii, you'll have to make a move yourself. Personally, I recommend telling him clearly that ‘I like you, please go out with me,’ like that.” (Rebecca)

“Eh!?” (Matilda)

“If you say it in a roundabout way, he will interpret strangely and it probably won’t progress. It might be because he avoided getting involved in love or anything like that up until now, but his self-evaluation is extremely low, you see.” (Rebecca)

When she heard the words whispered in her ear, Matilda's face turned bright red.

Seeing that, Allen guessed that ‘Rebecca is probably saying something unnecessary again,’ and approached the two in order to stop her.

Allen swung another chop at Rebecca's head, but just before it hit her, Rebecca turned aside and brilliantly dodged it.

“As always, you're good at just dodging.” (Allen)

“Evasion ability is essential for a peddler after all. Both physically and mentally.” (Rebecca)

“I feel like I'd want to hear more about that statement, but I guess I’ll do it later.” (Allen)

Allen looked away from Rebecca, who was proudly puffing out her chest, and turned towards Matilda, who was looking at him with somewhat timid eyes, and smiled wryly.

“Matilda, you should think that more than half of what this girl says is a joke. Especially when it comes to me, it's 80% a joke.” (Allen)

“Eeh, nothing but the truth always comes out of my mouth. Outside of business negotiations that is.” (Rebecca)

“No, you shouldn't do that in business negotiations.” (Allen)

Rebecca quickly denied Allen's statement, to which he responded with a tsukkomi.

Matilda looked at the coordinated exchange that only siblings who have lived together for many years can make, and then smiled softly.

“Rebecca-san. Thank you. I will think about it myself.” (Matilda)

“No, no, you're welcome. This is an investment in someone who is likely to promote my shop when it opens.” (Rebecca)

“I'm looking forward to it. Then, Allen, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about with your sister, so I'll excuse myself here.” (Matilda)

“I'm sorry about all this. See you at the Guild.” (Allen)

“Yes.” (Matilda)

The two watched Matilda's back as she left for a while. Then, as Allen pulled the cart and started walking towards the orphanage again, Rebecca shrewdly rode in it.

“She sure is a good person, Matilda-san.” (Rebecca)

“Ou. She's beautiful, good at her job, and has a lot of trust from people around her. I wonder why she's not married.” (Allen)

In answer to Allen's response, Rebecca laid down on the cart and secretly sighed. Various words came to her mind, but Rebecca never said them.

Because she knew that if a third party interferes unnecessarily, things tend to get complicated, and that's the same in love and business negotiations.

“Ah, now that I think about it, Len-nii, I heard you become a guild employee. Congratulations.” (Rebecca)

“Aah, I guess I did become one. I’ve already quit though.” (Allen)

“With this, you can live the stable life you've always... ha! You quit? Why!?” (Rebecca)

Rebecca jumped up and leaned forward so much that she was almost thrown off the cart, so Allen supported her with one hand to keep her from falling and then, with a troubled look on his face, he pushed the cart with the other hand and continued walking.

“I don't know if you know this, but there was an attempted stampede in the Dragon Dungeon recently. Something happened at the Guild at the time, so I quit my job as a guild employee and went back to being an adventurer.” (Allen)

“Why... no... then.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca began muttering to herself in a low voice, and Allen continued walking while supporting her.

This state of Rebecca’s is called ‘god state’ within the family, and if you touch Rebecca before she has finished organizing her thoughts, you will suffer severe damage. The so-called divine punishment.

After a while, when they almost reached the orphanage, Rebecca's god state ended and Allen let out a sigh of relief. Because he had been thinking that he would have to take a detour if she didn't get back by the time they got there.

“Rebecca, are you okay?” (Allen)

“Un. I'm going to Eri-nii's for a bit. I think I'll stay there for the night.” (Rebecca)

“Understood. Aah, Eric's hard work has paid off and he has finally earned a knighthood. Congratulate him, will you?” (Allen)

“I will. Ah, that's right. I'll be staying at Len-nii's place tomorrow, okay?” (Rebecca)

“Ou, I'll have a bed ready for you by the end of the day.” (Allen)

“I’m counting on you.” (Rebecca)

Rebecca put her large backpack back on her back and jumped out of the cart, waved and left as Allen saw her off.

After a while, Allen realized that he had forgotten to tell him that Eric had changed where he lived since he had been knighted, but by that time, Rebecca could no longer be seen.

“Well, if it’s Rebecca, she can probably take care of it herself.” (Allen)

Thinking of Rebecca, who was the most resourceful of his family, Allen muttered these words as he pulled the cart and entered the orphanage.

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(T/N: ‘smiled wryly’ and ‘smiled bitterly’ is actually the same word; 苦笑い - bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh.)

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