[V9EX1] Curious Neighbor

One summer, a young woman moved into the neighborhood, becoming the neighbor of Mrs. Knolles.

She was a petite girl with light brown hair who seemed incredibly shy. Judging by appearance, she was probably around sixteen or seventeen.

While it was not extremely luxurious, this residential district was reasonably upscale.

Mrs. Knolles assumed that the girl was the daughter of a wealthy family who inherited their fortune after losing her parents early on, or something similar to that. That would explain why she lived alone in this area.

Shortly afterwards, she noticed a handsome young man with blonde hair going in and out of her neighbor’s house.

Were they lovers? Or perhaps already married?

Mrs. Knolles felt her heart flutter at the thought.

Her husband had been working in Sazandol as a merchant, but ever he passed away, Mrs. Knolles spent almost all her time knitting by the window or tending to the garden. All of her children had already married and left the nest.

Since Mrs. Knolles had too much free time on her hands, she found herself constantly thinking about her intriguing new neighbors.


Towards the end of summer, Mrs. Knolles noticed the arrival of a storm.

The wind seemed incredibly strong, so after much consideration, she decided to bring in the bench that was placed in the garden.

This was a wooden bench decorated with the carvings of small birds along the edges. Her late husband had crafted it as a hobby, so it would be truly heartbreaking if the storm damaged it.

However, the bench proved a bit too heavy for Mrs. Knolles. Even with the help of her elderly maid, it was too difficult to move.

Mrs. Knolles was at a loss until she heard a voice from the neighboring yard.

“If it’s not too much trouble, shall I assist you, Madam?”

Mrs. Knolles turned to see the handsome blond man looking in their direction.

His clear and eloquent manner of speaking indicated that he was either a noble or someone who served one.

“Yes, we were in quite a bit of trouble. Will you please help us?” Mrs. Knolles replied.

“With pleasure.”

Rather than climbing over the fence, the young man circled around and entered through the garden gate in proper fashion. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and fastened a sleeve garter.

“I want to bring this bench inside the house,” Mrs. Knolles explained. “We’ll hold this side, so will you take the other?”

“Don’t worry, I can manage it alone. Please stand back,” the young man replied.

With a slight grunt, he placed his hands on the bench and turned it vertically so it was resting on this shoulder. Then, he turned to the wide-eyed Mrs. Knolles and smiled.

“Could you open the door for me?”

“Oh, y-yes, of course!”

Mrs. Knolles quickly opened the door, and her elderly maid held it open.

The young man thanked them and carried the bench inside at a relaxed gait.

“Is it fine if I place it down here?”

“Yes, please do.”

The young man placed the bench down and let out a breath before turning back to Mrs. Knolles.

“Is there anything else you’d like me to bring inside?”

“No, that was it. Thank you very much. You’ve been a tremendous help.”

“I’m glad to be of assistance,” the young man said, smiling gently.

What a brilliant smile! Mrs. Knolles could not help but be moved.

“Oh right, may I ask for your name?” Mrs. Knolles asked.

“I apologize for the delayed introduction. Please, call me Walker.”

“Walker-san, regarding the neighbor lady, how are you, um…”

Mrs. Knolles trailed off, feeling a bit hesitant to ask such a direct question about their relationship. After a slight pause to consider his next words, Walker explained.

“You can think of me as a servant of hers who comes to visit occasionally.”

This was the first encounter between the man named Walker and Mrs. Knolles.

＊　＊　＊

The seasons transitioned from summer to autumn, and a slight chill mixed into the wind. One day, while Mrs. Knolles was tending to the autumn roses in her garden, she spotted Walker walking down the road carrying a very large bag.

“Good day to you, Walker-san. Quite the load you have there.”

“Hello, Mrs. Knolles.”

Walker paused and revealed the contents of the bag. It seemed to contain apples and various other fruits.

“You see, Monica caught a cold recently… I went out and bought some things we need to nurse her back to health.”

Monica was the name of the little lady who owned the house. Apparently, Walker worked there for about half the month as a live-in.

Mrs. Knolles did not know what Walker was doing with the remaining half, but she assumed that he was probably going somewhere distant for work.

That said, he clearly wasn’t a fisherman or sailor, as all men working in the seas of Sazandol would show signs of sunburn.

(Either way…)

Walker had always been a polite young man who acted with complete composure. But for some reason, he seemed a bit restless today.

Certainly, a part of that could be attributed to his worrying about the young girl with a cold, but only a part.

“You seem a bit more enthusiastic than usual today.”

Mrs. Knolles voiced her thoughts directly, causing Walker to flinch slightly in surprise. After a bit of hesitation, he averted his gaze and whispered in a lowered tone.

“I know this is very inappropriate, but as you pointed out, I do actually feel a bit enthusiastic. After all, it has been quite a while since the last time I nursed someone who was sick.”

Walker seemed incredibly embarrassed, but Mrs. Knolles felt a warm feeling in her chest, as if she were watching over her own son.

Mrs. Knolles remembered back to when her son was still young. Whenever she got sick, her son would bring her water or pick flowers for her with great enthusiasm.

“No one feels bad about having an enthusiastic caretaker. That little lady is very fortunate.”

Walker let out a sigh of relief and smiled. With one hand on the paper bag, his other hand reached up to touch the bangs above his right eye.

“Thank you, Madam.”

＊　＊　＊

Monica sneezed and, after confirming that no saliva had landed on her partially written document, resumed moving her quill.

She was currently working on a magical formula to synchronize Spirit King Summoning with other magical formulas.

“Hey, Monica. Should you really be up and moving?” Nero asked. “Sparkles told you to stay put, didn’t he?”

“…? But I am staying put?”

Monica turned to look at Nero, who was curled up by the window, swaying his tail.

Before going out, Isaac had said, “You have a fever, so keep warm and stay put.” Thus, Monica made sure to put on her coat and stay put in her chair, engrossing herself in writing.

There was clearly nothing wrong, so Monica returned to her calculations.

A short while later, Isaac entered through the front door. Monica failed to notice this as she was still absorbed in her calculations.

“Finally at Section 382… Hehe…”

The previous sections involved many repetitive calculations, but Section 382 of the magical formula was essentially a culmination of everything she had done so far. To Monica, this was essentially the main dish of a full course dinner, so she had been looking forward to it with great excitement.

However, just as Monica was about to dip her quill into the ink and resume her work, she found that the quill was missing from her hands.

Sensing a presence behind her, she turned around to find a smiling Isaac. That said, his eyes seemed rather stern for a smile.

“You’ve been a naughty girl, Monica. Why didn’t you follow my instructions?”

“…? I’m keeping warm and staying put, see?”

Ignoring her excuse, Isaac returned the quill to its stand and began clearing the stack of papers on the desk.

Monica gasped and reached out her hand, but Isaac blocked her off with an even more sparkling smile than usual.

“When you get a fever, you sleep in your bed.”

“P-Please, just a little while longer… I finally reached Section 382…!”

“How much is ‘just a little’ exactly?”

“Please, just twelve more hours…!” Monica pleaded, looking up at Isaac with feverish eyes.

“That is certainly not the answer I was expecting. You do realize you have a cold, right?”

Isaac reached under Monica’s armpits and effortlessly lifted her out of the chair.

“Stay in bed until the fever goes down. Okay?”

“T-Then can I bring the pen and paper to the bed…?”

“Oh dear. What an interesting patient to take care of. You had better brace yourself, I’ll nurse you with all my might.”

“P-Pen and paper, p-please…”

Nero sighed as if to say “Told you so” as he watched the sniffling Monica get placed into bed.

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