Something begins in the Park (2)

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I called her, but Eileen didn’t want to wait for me.

She and Aldo ran up the stone steps.

It is wide with the steps not raised too high and drawing a gentle arc. Typical of a park, there is a little plaza on the hill which can be reached after climbing it up.

The young man is still there. He looks like he’s wondering deeply about something that makes me feel like I should call the police in a hurry.

I can just think of him as a part of the scenery――

――I decided to be at ease while thinking of that.

Which is not bad at all, and I thought of observing what that mischief-loving stupid Young Lady would do. But I immediately realise I should have thought things through more carefully!

I realized this when I heard Eileen’s voice saying,

“Go on, aldo!”

Eh

“Wan!”

You fool!!

The sight of Eileen which can be seen by the cliffs, I clearly understand what she’s planning.

With an evil grinning face, her legs wide open, and――

Pointing to the young man, she gave a command to Aldo.

I wish I could scream, but my health gauge is bright red.

Surely, the young man would have had no idea what’s happening.

Feeling an impact on his back, he lean on the aging railing, and fell below――

-dobon-

I feel like I can see and hear the sound of him falling into the pond like in a manga.

Anyway, the young man fell into the pond and sunk, leading to a water column rising up.

“That idiot―――――!”

The young man floated right away, but he is struggling either because of his heavy clothes or that he couldn’t swim.

Instantly, in my heard, I see newspapers with headlines such as, “Oliver’s daughter, arrested for murder,” “mysterious misfortune,” “What made her commit murder, just for pleasure!?” delivered to the newspaper stores!

Move!

I scold this heavy body that claims to be too tired, and runs to the boat stand.

In the management hut near the platform, I see a tag that says, “During break. Please go to the Park Management Building if you need help.”

That said, if no one had witnessed the dog’s action, it would be best to hide the evidence, and it would be a good thing to just return―― no, it’s as if I’m planning to hide a crime I’m committing!

I got into the boat in a hurry.

In the evening pond

With cherry blossom petals

All alone I rowed

――expressing it that way, it sounds quite sentimental, but it is not the time to be in a mood like that!

I am having the slim arms of Eileen, Villainess Young Lady, but I’m desperately rowing towards the drowning man.

Needless to say, he climbed on board on his own.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, aaaaah… Thank you. I’m saved.”

“If you’d like, here.”

I could only offer a handkerchief to the man who keeps breathing roughly.

It is such a small cloth that might not be of any use to the man whose entire body is soaked, but he receives it politely.

“What happened… I thought I heard a girl’s voice, then an impact… somehow, the railing broke…”

“Surely, the railings must have aged quite a lot.”

“T-that’s right.”

“What is the park manager doing!? It’s outrageous!”

Transfer of responsibility, complete!

The boat slowly moves toward the shore.

Eventually, we returned to the docks, and he returned to land on our own, albeit in wobbly steps.

“Thank you. What would I have become without you?”

The young man bowed gently.

He has fine golden hair and eyes of a pale colour. With luxurious looking clothes… despite it dripping from the hem.

A good-looking guy dripping wet! The sensationality is off the charts!

But in fact, I’m related to the true culprit. I’m not in a position where I can receive his thanks―― I want to leave this place quickly before the true culprit is revealed.

I take 2 steps back.

“No, I don’t deserve your grace. Well, I mean, when someone is in trouble, you should definitely help?”

“What a humble Young Lady…”

He takes 3 steps forward.

Not noticing that I am making a frown with a -gee-, he took my right hand with his dripping wet hands.

“In addition, you have the courage to help those who seek help on your own……… You’re such a wonderful person.”

“No, I don’t need any such compliments. Your feelings alone are enough. Rather, you don’t even have to do that. Forget it. I mean it.”

“If possible, I would like to thank you?”

“There is a saying in our household, ‘You can’t eat this kind of stiff gratitude and indebtedness for seven days in a week.’ So what I mean――”

The young man is approaching, I am at a loss, when,

“Ah, Konomi!”

I heard such a voice, and looked back with a sigh.

I saw the idiot with Aldo rushing over with an incredible smile.

“Did you see my stunning mischief!? You can’t not. You’re a servant of mine, So you can’t not look at my actions. There was a man of doubtful origin who was just staring blankly into nothingness――”

“Aah―― don’t talk about that, Idiot――!”

“-mogo-“

Flying over in a hurry, I close Eileen’s mouth.

“-mogo- -mogo- -mogo- -mogo-!”

“Good, shut up like that for a moment!”

I understand what you’re trying to say even without you opening your mouth.

I responded sharply in a whisper to the rampaging Eileen, and turned to the young man with a smirk.

Then I left a, “well, things seemed to be settled here!” and left the place while dragging Eileen with Ado――

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Until we left a good distance away, for a long time, I can feel the gaze of a young man on my back.

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TN: The ‘young man’ here is written in the raws as seinen (青年) which is a term used for boys in high schools and up. Seinen is used for those older than Shounen (少年)

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