Siblings And Colds (7)

Baron Greek was shocked. Well, she is the Master’s woman. She is a mysterious woman but always exudes an immense aura.

Moreover, when she first visited the Lord’s castle, she had shouted outside with his voice.

She is undoubtedly a wizard like the Master.

So it makes sense that she defeated the thugs.

“By the way, I heard you’ve had a hard life. As Lord, I support citizens like you. We just arrested Latanda for numerous corrupt acts. If there’s anyone else like him, come to me anytime. Understand? Also, we caught Latanda because the owner of the ranch you work at informed us.”

Baron Greek said this and turned his back.

To Mate, he looked dazzling.

The Baron was gradually showing the dignity of a lord.

He still asked questions like a child in front of El.

But at times like this, he looked very dignified.

Mate couldn’t believe the current situation. The fact that Latanda, who had tormented him so much, was arrested.

“Th-thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

All he could do was bow his head.

“Mate!”

Behind him, Linte, who had been determined to die, ran to find his brother alone.

After that, Linte and Mate worked at the ranch with the determination to stay forever.

Everything that happened felt like a dream.

No one tormented them anymore.

They no longer had to scavenge for food because of their wages.

Everything was new.

They liked the cheap inn room Ment had arranged for them. It was the first time in decades they had slept in a bed since their parents were alive.

The first place they visited was a bathhouse in Greek City. They wanted to wash off the old dirt and start afresh.

“Brother, shouldn’t we formally thank El, the owner of the ranch?”

“That’s right. From what we’ve heard, it seems he was involved in catching that bastard Latanda. Even if not, we should definitely thank him for hiring us!”

The benefactor who made them function as people.

The person who made them, who weren’t treated like humans, be treated like people.

So Linte and Mate asked Ment to arrange a meeting with El. They wanted to show their determination to repay him by working hard at the ranch.

“Senior Ment, it may be very presumptuous for guys like us to ask to meet him… But isn’t it proper etiquette to meet and thank him?”

Mate explained with his characteristic bright eyes, and Linte nodded earnestly beside him.

“That’s not difficult. El is very close. After work today, I’ll buy you dinner. You can meet El then.”

“Really?”

Miltain, who was the first junior to Ment, confidently assured them.

“You, you’re starting to function as a person now?”

“Well, Senior, I have juniors now. I have to act like a senior!”

Miltain scratched his head, looking proud.

“But shouldn’t we be the ones buying?”

“Don’t worry about that. Can’t I buy a meal for my first juniors? Besides, I got dumped again yesterday, so I have extra money! Got it? Hahaha!”

Miltain laughed cheerfully, making a sad joke. He was smiling, but his face was deteriorating. He didn’t know how many times he had been dumped recently.

Ment just shook his head. Miltain was a good guy, but his love life was a mess.

After finishing the ranch work, Miltain hurriedly led Linte and Mate to El’s restaurant as he had promised.

“Th-this place is…”

“Yes, this place is an amazing restaurant. Come in.”

Miltain shrugged and went inside. It was a familiar restaurant on the hill for the brothers.

Mate and Linte whispered to each other right in front of the restaurant.

“This is the place with that terrible food…”

“If they’re treating us, don’t say that. Brother! It’s the first time someone has bought us something!”

“That’s true…”

“And I really want to thank that woman too.”

They were a bit scared but sincere. The brothers nodded to each other. They were determined to eat whatever food came out.

In reality, what they ate was a random stew Rurin had thrown together. Of course, the brothers didn’t know that.

“Welcome.”

El greeted them warmly. He had already received a report on the progress from Baron Greek.

“Huh?”

The brothers naturally recognized El and opened their mouths in surprise.

“Th-this is… El’s restaurant…?”

“Yes, that’s right. You wanted to thank me?”

“Yes!”

This is the restaurant with that scary woman?

So, is that woman his wife?

Mate thought it oddly fitting and immediately bowed.

Linte did the same.

“Th-thank you for hiring us! Thank you for taking care of people like us! We will definitely repay you with our work!”

“That’s okay. I hired you because you’re trustworthy. I’ll be more grateful if you work hard.”

El shrugged and gestured to Miltain. Miltain then helped the two up.

“El doesn’t like this kind of thing, so go sit down. Repay with actions, not words.”

“Th-that’s right!”

Linte and Mate sat down with dazed expressions.

El planned to serve them uba belly marinated in aged whiskey.

Sizzle-

The sound of meat grilling filled the restaurant with a good aroma.

“Brother, it smells good.”

“Y-yeah? What’s going on? Is it just the smell?”

The two whispered so Miltain wouldn’t hear. They were still shocked by the discarded food they had eaten that day.

“What are you doing? What are you whispering about?”

“N-nothing!”

“Yeah. By the way, senior, you seem popular with women, so why…”

Mate quickly changed the subject and asked Miltain. Miltain just scratched the back of his head.

“Well, you’d be more popular with women. You look cute. I thought you were a girl at first.”

“He does look a bit like a gigolo.”

“Brother, senior! That’s too much. A gigolo?”

“Now, the food is here.”

While Mate’s face was red with embarrassment, the marinated uba belly was brought to the table. Grilled on an iron plate, it was served with vegetables.

“Enjoy, and I hope you’ll work hard again from tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

El nodded at their response and stepped back to let them eat comfortably.

Miltain was the first to take a bite. The texture of the uba belly was entirely different from usual.

“Wow, El! Why is this so tender?”

“I marinated it with a special technique.”

“Oh…”

Indeed, with each bite, a soft yet subtle fragrance spread in his mouth. It was a deep and refreshing flavor, mysterious and exquisite.

It was superb, truly superb.

Miltain gestured excitedly to the two brothers.

Linte and Mate took the uba belly with somewhat stiff faces. With skeptical expressions, they brought it to their mouths. Mate, who tasted it first, soon called out to Linte with a surprised face.

“Brother, hurry and try it! Hurry!”

“Huh?”

Linte soon had the same expression as Mate. It was literally a taste they had never experienced before. An incredible delicacy.

“What is this… Then what was that back then?”

“Miltain, senior, this is really delicious.”

Mate shouted to Miltain with a blissful face. Linte completely agreed.

Then Mate and Linte suddenly burst out laughing.

“That stuff we ate before must have been literal garbage.”

“Indeed, brother.”

“What are you talking about?”

“N-nothing.”

The brothers laughed as they picked up the uba belly. As they ate, tears fell naturally. They cried and laughed because they were that happy.

The people of the ranch.

Miltain, Ment, and Seral. They were all warm people. They now had a place to stay and could eat proper food.

Living like a human being brought tears to their eyes.

To the brothers who had lived a life filled with misfortune, all this was so amazing. So much so that tears flowed continuously like chicken droppings.

“Brother… I didn’t know you could cry from happiness… This is the first time… Sob…”

“Yeah, really.”

“What, what’s going on? Why are you crying?”

Only Miltain was flustered, patting Mate’s back with a puzzled expression. He hurriedly looked for El, but he was nowhere to be seen.

After grilling the belly meat, I immediately went up to Rurin.

She woke up at lunchtime and had been taking care of me ever since. She didn’t leave my side for a moment, using her illness as an excuse to be more demanding.

“Now, open up. This is a banana, it’s very good for a sore throat.”

The dietary fiber and mucopolysaccharides in bananas help soothe a sore throat. Especially for early throat infections, eating a banana is recommended.

Bananas are much more nutritious than the ingredients in cold medicine.

“Ahhh!”

Rurin opened her mouth very wide. It was a bit excessive for eating a banana.

“Yes, yes. Here you go.”

“What is this? It’s my first time eating it.”

“You talk well for someone with a sore throat.”

“Yum yum.”

“Somehow, I feel like you’re all better.”

“Nope.”

Rurin shook her head. Something was suspicious.

I placed my hand on her forehead.

Suddenly, she started coughing.

“Cough cough cough!”

Somehow, it was similar to the fake cough I had done. Thinking back, she seemed on the verge of death from the cold in the morning, but after waking up at noon, her face looked lively.

I pretended to retreat and then suddenly placed my hand on Rurin’s forehead.

It’s hot, indeed.

“Oh, the fever…?”

“Yes, that’s right! It’s hot! And it hurts. Hug me tightly! All day. Cough cough cough cough.”

“Don’t be silly. There’s no way it could be this hot. This isn’t a fever from a cold.”

“Huh?”

Rurin suddenly turned over with a guilty expression. She continued to cough.

I discreetly checked around the bed. The edge of the bed was slightly scorched. It was a sign of some manipulation.

As if she had created a fireball to raise her forehead’s temperature.

“You recover quickly. It’s just like you.”

“No! I’m sick! You were so kind in the morning, what’s this? I’m really sick!”

Rurin turned her body again and strongly protested. It was somehow amusing.

So I hugged Rurin from the front.

“You’re silly. How you feel when I’m sick is how I feel when you’re sick. Got it? If you’re better, you should tell me.”

Rurin didn’t say anything, as if I had hit the mark.

“Really? You too?”

“Yes. And thanks for yesterday, so let’s hug tightly as you said. Tightly.”

Rurin kept asking again, as if she couldn’t believe it, and held onto my back tightly.