Dream Life Vol II Chapter 51.1: “Cohabitation”

　December 30th.

　Today is the last day of the 312 year of the Tria calendar.

　I have a strange title, but I have been hunting monsters steadily and have become a sixth-rank adventurer.

　Our status and skills have improved considerably.

　Since acquiring the armor in November, I’ve been dealing mainly with ghouls, orcs, and other humanoid monsters, so my skills in swordsmanship and other melee combat skills have improved.

　Now, I am a level 22 swordsman, and my [Sword Arts] reached level 27, which means that I am a sixth-rank mercenary, or I am as good as a full-fledged mercenary, if only in terms of skill.

　Not only that, but my magic skills have also improved considerably. My wind attribute, which is my forte, is now twenty-seven, which is on par with a magician in an ordinary adventurer’s party.

　According to Beatrice, my pace is incredibly fast. Since leaving the village of Rathmore, I have already improved six levels as a swordsman and four levels each in [Sword Arts] and wind attribute magic.

　According to common sense, once you reach level 20, you can only go up one level in half a year, or at most two levels. Since my [Sword Arts] is supposed to grow three times faster, it does not feel so strange to me.

　I am raising my level as a swordsman at the same time as my magic, and I consider the fact that I am rising at three times the rate of a normal swordsman to be the result of my efforts. However, looking at Sharon’s growth, there should still be room for more growth.

　Sharon has raised the level of her wind attribute magic to 22 and her fire attribute magic to 21. Although her total amount of magic power is less than mine, her level increase is a result of her efforts.

　Incidentally, I read in the letter that Mel and Dan in Rathmore Village are also steadily increasing their level. They didn’t give us any specific numbers, so I guess they are planning to surprise us when we return next summer.

　As for the academy, we are still receiving instruction from Professor Ruspede, two days every five days.

　I feel that, partly as a result of this, my levels are rising faster than ever, except for my main magic, wind attribute.

　And today is New Year’s Eve.

　At home, Sharon is happily cooking, and Liddy and Beatrice are out buying alcohol and bread.

　As for me, of course, I’m on bath duty.

　I fill the bathtub with water and heat the water.

　And today, I did something a little different. I put chamomile leaves in the water as a bath salt.

　As I recall, chamomile has a calming and relaxing effect. Plus it smells like sweet apples.

　The idea came to me suddenly after drinking a cup of herbal tea about a month ago.

　Since it was a good opportunity, I bought some chamomile leaves without telling the three of them to surprise them on New Year’s Eve.

　The winters here in Doctus are not as cold as in the village of Rathmore, but they are still quite cold.

　In particular, the wind coming over the Caelum Mountains to the northwest is cuttingly cold.

　Today, too, it was cold from the morning, and my hands were biting as I washed the bathtub.

　I thought it would be nice to take a warm, fragrant bath on a day like this.

　By 3:00 p.m., Sharon’s cooking was almost finished, and the bath was heated.

　When the bath was finished heating up, I put in some chamomile leaves wrapped in a cloth, and the sweet aroma wafted into the bathroom.

　The order of taking a bath today was Sharon, me, Liddy, and Beatrice, in that order. Sharon was the first one to get out of the bath, smelling good, and she excitedly praised the chamomile bath as the best one she had ever had.

　When I, Liddy, Beatrice, and I came out of the bath, there was a somewhat sweet smell in the living room.

　Liddy said, “That felt good. Let’s continue to bathe in it.” Beatrice said, “This is a luxurious bath. Even the nobility doesn’t have this,” Beatrice said in a good mood.

　My chamomile bath plan was a great success.

　Before we started eating, we made a toast to the gods.

　For a few moments, I was lost in thought that this year had been a turbulent one.

　I had made up my mind to enter the academy this year and asked Nicholas – Nicholas Garland, the squire in charge of internal affairs – to check the eligibility requirements and told my family that I would be taking the entrance examination on my birthday in May.

　I also traveled for the first time.

　I met many people.

　Byron–Byron Seedorf, the mercenary I traveled with.

　Ms. Kitley–Professor Kitley Elvine, an old friend of Liddy’s.

　Professor Ruspede, Councilor Wagman ……

　And Beatrice.

　There were also goodbyes.

　Mel and Dan, Nicholas and the squires, and my family in the village of Rathmore.

　For the first time, I was ready to die.

　I guess I was a little sentimental and didn’t notice the three of them looking at me. When I noticed, Liddy called out to me.

“You were thinking about something again. But before that, let’s enjoy the meal.” (Liddy)

　I nodded my head in agreement, and we tasted Sharon’s cooking.

　Sharon’s cooking had improved considerably since we first came here. She sometimes learns to cook from the wives of her neighbors, and she now serves dishes that are not available in the Rathmore Village.

“I take my hat off to you. These are really delicious.”

　When I said this, Liddy and Beatrice praised her as well, and Sharon smiled happily, blushing, saying, “Thank you very much.”

　After the meal is over and we finish cleaning up, we relax in front of the fireplace.

　The only sound in the room is the crackling of the wood in the fireplace.

　Liddy begins to talk to everyone, “I need to talk about something.”

　When she said, “It’s about Beatrice,” Beatrice looked at Liddy with a start.

“It’s been about three months since we met. I think it’s about time she moved in here. You like it here too, don’t you?” (Liddy)

　Beatrice froze for a moment, and then simply replied, “Yeah.”

“I figured you were probably just waiting for us. …What do you think Sharon?” (Liddy)

　Sharon nodded with a smile, “I’m all for it.”

　Liddy nodded back at her with a smile and said, “Well, that settles it then. I was originally going to ask you to move here today, but I think we agree to have you move here after tomorrow,” she confirmed to Beatrice.

　“Aren’t you going to ask my opinion?” I said jokingly, and Liddy giggled,

“How could you refuse? You just wouldn’t say it because I’m not good with people.” (Liddy)

　She was right.

　I thought about telling her when I was seriously injured in November, but it had only been a month since we met. Considering Liddy’s fear of other people, I thought I would have to wait six months to see how things went, and I was going to discuss it in the spring.

　There was one more thing I was worried about.

　Beatrice herself.

　She has been an adventurer for about fifteen years and has lived at the inn for a long time. Conversely, she had never lived in a residential area like this, and I thought it might be somewhat difficult for her. She herself believes that small children are afraid of her. She was concerned about the Novello family next door with three small daughters.

　This is a relatively close-knit neighborhood, and we interact with both neighbors quite a bit. We share the meat of the monsters we catch, or conversely, they share their cooking with us because they cook a lot. Perhaps she is worried about forcing the young Sharon taking the place of a homemaker.

　It is not surprising that Beatrice does not want to disrupt such a relationship.

“Of course, I have no reason to object. I would welcome it, but is Beatrice really alright with this? I’m unsure if you’re more comfortable being alone or something. …So, If Liddy is getting ahead of herself, feel free to tell me.” (Zack)

　Beatrice gave a small shake of her head and said, “No, I’m not,” in a muffled little voice, which was unusual for her.

　Then, looking at the three of us,

“Are you sure you want to do this?　I don’t want to get in your way. You guys have known each other for more than six years, right? I’ve only been with you for less than three months. Someone like me…” (Beatrice)

“Time has nothing to do with it. We are putting our lives in each other’s hands. You don’t have to worry about that.” (Zack)

　I interrupted her, and after saying that, I said, “Then it’s done,” and I raised my drink.

“Let’s have a toast. To our new family.” (Zack)

　Three people also toasted with me.

　The year 313 of the Tria calendar has dawned.

　Last night, Beatrice decided to move in with us, and we ended up staying up late into the night.

　Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I went to my daily training routine.

　It is still dark at 6 am.

　As usual, I go to the small backyard and swing my sword.

　After about 30 minutes of swinging the sword, my body gradually becomes warm, and I began to sweat.

　Usually, at that time, Sharon gets up and starts preparing breakfast, and when she feels like it, Liddy swings her sword with her.

　Today, I told her that she can prepare breakfast later, so Sharon is still asleep.

　I was swinging my sword, thinking about something.

(I’ve decided to live with Beatrice… Should I tell her my secret? If I did, when would the right time be? As far as I’m concerned, I should tell her today. I know I can trust her, and I know my father and grandfather will approve of me telling her. But that’s not the only thing I want to talk about. My family, Liddy, Sharon, and the others accepted it without resistance. But normally they would not believe such an outlandish story and might even be creeped out. We were just getting to the point where we have built a good relationship…) (Zack)

　As I was swinging my sword, full of distracting thoughts, Beatrice was standing behind me, I was unaware of her presence.

“You’ve been very energetic this morning. But what are you thinking about? You didn’t seem very focused.” (Beatrice)