"Hehehe!"
"Hahahaha!"
Heh, I haven't laughed this hard in ages. Wait, when was the last time I laughed? It's been so long since I've had time to do anything other than just work, work, work. It would've been on my... 18th birthday? Yeah, that's right, with that girl, what was her name again?
"He gone long time, we go?"
Oh, whatever. It's not like that matters anymore.
"Yeah, let's go."
Ssh
Tap
I slide the side boxes away and lift the top one, letting us get out.
"Your ride, ma'am."
I stand up, squat down, and reach my arm out.
"Hehe, tank you!"
She grabs my arm, laughing the whole time, and I lift her into a piggyback.
Oh, crap, thank god she's light. I almost forgot that I'm only a year older than her.
"Are you hungry, madam?"
"Mhm!"
Of course, she still is. All we had were those few scraps of bread… Honestly, most of it fell out while I was running.
"Let's get you some food, then."
There isn't nearly enough soup left to fill her up. Not to mention, nobody deserves to eat food that bad. Especially not an adorable little kid like her.
"You so fast!"
"Do you want me to go faster?"
"Yesh, pwease!"
"Okay, here we go!"
Tap tap tap
"Aaaaahhh~"
Huff, huff…
I'll hide her in my room and find more food for her. After that, I'll have to figure out what to do with her...
"Hehehe!"
I'm taking her with me everywhere. I'm not making that mistake, not again.
Step step
"This scawwy.. can go?"
"Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time. I'll never leave you again."
"P-Pwomise?"
She sticks her head over my right shoulder and looks me in the eyes, allowing me to see little freckles around her eyes that were almost impossible to see earlier.
"I swear, you will never be alone again."
In response, I raise my left arm and brush her hair, petting her fluffy ears.
"Aah!"
Feeling my hand rub against her head, she squeals with surprise and looks at me with an annoyed expression.
"...We go!"
"All right, all right. We're going."
Whump, whump
I hear her tail wagging and hitting against the small stairway's walls as we reach the door.
Tap
She grabs her tail and holds it down, attempting to hide her happiness.
Step
"Gulp."
I feel her grip tightening as we reach the top when she truly realizes what's happening.
"W-Weawwy weaving..?"
She pauses for a moment, and then her grip loosens.
"...Otay! We go!"
What a brave girl. I can only imagine what she must have gone through to be like this.
Ssh
We're lucky he went further inside instead of leaving and locking us in. That would've ended terribly.
Swish
Although brave, she is still scared, so she covers her face with the blanket, using it as a hood, and buries it in my shoulder.
Step
I take the first step outside, relieving some of her tension.
Step, step
"See? Everything is okay. The outside world isn't as dangerous as you thought, hmm?"
"It... Wawm."
Now that we're out of that freezing basement, she should start to warm up with time.
Grrowl~
Next, to get something to eat.
"Let's go."
Step
I could leave her in my room while I steal from the kitchen, but I swore not to leave her alone again, at least not for a while. I never know when the count could check my room, and it'd be better for him to find an empty room than her.
Click!
Creak~
I open the door, making a high-pitched clicking sound, possibly a magical lock unlocking as the door opens.
Tap
Click!
I slowly exit the room, the door making the same sound as it locks behind us.
"Be super quiet. We can't be found by them."
"Yesh."
I've mostly memorized the layout of the mansion. That, along with the routes taken most and least commonly by the servants and maids, should be enough for us to get there safely.
"But to get to the kitchen..."
"What?"
"Just talking to myself, don't mind me, let's go."
Step
I silently but hastily rush down the maze-like hallways of the mansion, avoiding routes used by guards. Only once did we run into another person, a maid cleaning tables, whom we waited to look away from our direction and then ran past.
Tap
Reaching an entrance leading to a less populated kitchen spot, I slow down and stop walking.
"Huh?"
She lifts her head and looks around, struggling to identify where and why we are here.
"Whewe awe we?"
"The kitchen, we're getting more food."
Grumble~
"Gulp."
"There might be people here, so let's keep our voices down."
"Yesh."
Step step
Now, we just need to find something that can fit in my bag but will be enough to alleviate her hunger. Something like... Ah! That's perfect!
Swish
I spot what I'm looking for, a small rectangular basket with fresh fruits inside of it. The basket contained some apples, a couple of clusters of grapes, a few figs, and three plums.
"Fwuits?"
"Do you not like fruit?"
"Me wove fwuits."
"Alright, let's go."
I grab the basket and dump the various fruits into my previously empty bag, now full to the point of one of the apples falling out onto the floor.
"Oops."
I bend over to grab the apple I had dropped, but as I do, I hear footsteps and a voice coming from around the corner.
Tap, tap
"Oh crap..!"
I quickly stand back up, slightly knocking the Dark Elf girl's head on the wall.
"Ow!"
"I'm so, so sorry. We have to hurry back."
"..Meanie."
I sprint back toward the direction we had come in, trying not to alert the person standing mere feet away from us.
Step step step...
Tap
"Hm?"
Simon, the butler, stops walking as he notices an apple fallen on the floor.
Tap
"A fallen apple? The chefs wouldn't leave such a thing here. I will have to report this to sir."
Shiff
He reaches into his pocket, grabs a small, square object and taps on it. As he does, it lights up and, after a few seconds, lets out a beeping sound.
Yes?
Sir, I found an apple knocked over during my patrol.
An apple? Could it have been Nietzche?
I believe not, sir. If it had been Nietzche, he would have reported it to me as his direct superior.
Okay, lock down that section of the kitchen for now.
Beep
As the Count stops speaking, the device fades to black, and the butler slides it back into his pocket.
"...Where is he?"
Step step
Bang!
"It must have been that Elf boy! Nobody else would dare to do something in my mansion!"
Crumble
Thump, thump
The man stomps out of the room, leaving a crack in the wall.
"What was that?"
Hearing a sound around the corner, I peek my head out, barely managing to stay out of the count's line of sight.
"Whoa!"
I quickly retract my head, almost falling over in the process.
Sheesh, that guy has some serious anger issues. Doesn't this world at least have SOME kind of therapy?
Yawn~
She yawns and stretches her arms, clearly about to fall asleep.
"Just a little longer."
Yeah... Probably not good enough to help him.
She doesn't respond to me, too tired and hungry to even realize I spoke in the first place.
Well, it can't hurt to give her something to munch on.
I reach into my bag and pull out one of the apples, handing it to her.
"We're almost to my room. Here, have this apple while we walk."
She reaches out and takes the apple from my hand.
Tap
Wait, can she even eat that? Do children her age have strong enough teeth to eat an apple?
I turn my head back to her and see something that surprises me.
Wow, I guess I shouldn't rely on the common sense of my old world here, huh?
Crunch
She opens her mouth, revealing her sharp, pointy teeth, and takes a large bite of the apple.
"Wat?"
"Nothing, nothing, just making sure you like it."
Hmm, must be the catish in her. I'll have to ask her about it sometime.
"Ish gud."
"Heh. We're here."
Creak
I open the door to a familiar sight. My room just as I had left it.
"Sigh~"
As I take the first step inside, all my fatigue hits me at once.
Whump
I take a few steps toward my bed and fall back onto it, with her lying next to me, still munching on her apple.
"Haa."
I doubt he'll just leave me alone in here now. I mean, I haven't been the stealthiest of people, and there isn't a reason for him not to suspect me.
"Hey, do you-"
I glance over in her direction, but she is already sound asleep on my bed. Her half-eaten apple has fallen out of her mouth and onto my bed, a single trail of drool connecting it and her mouth.
"Jeez, when will I get a break..."
I grab the apple and set it on top of a nearby drawer.
Swipe
I grab a handkerchief from the drawer and wipe her lips with it.
"Let's get you comfortable."
Swish
After placing the handkerchief away, I tuck her under the blankets.
Yawn~
"Time to get to work."
I might be tired right now, but compared to the long hours I spent at work, this is nothing!
While going over what to do in my head, I cut up the fruit using a knife the maids hadn't taken from my room yet.
"Can't hurt to be safe, I guess..."
"What to do."
I have... about a day if I'm lucky. Before he comes looking here for her, if, by then, I haven't hidden her, I can't imagine what will happen.
"But I'm so.. tired..."
Whump
I fall back onto the bed, exhaustion taking over, and fall asleep.