Chapter 51 - The Prince of the Beastly Kingdom is Supposed to Have a Harem…16
"Ruth."
"Oh... Clark."
Surprised by the voice, Ruth turned to the door where Clark was standing with it slightly ajar. It was a little scary to see his huge, bear-like frame peeking through the gap, but he sighed in relief when he realized it wasn't someone else. When Clark asked if it was okay to come in, Ruth realized his brother was worried about the Ocal, so he reassured him saying it wouldn’t get violent. His brother then opened the door and entered.
"Grrrr…"
However, the moment Clark walked in, the Ocal, who had been sleepy until then, stood up on the sofa and bared its fangs, threatening Clark. It caused him to be startled and stepped back a little.
"H-hey, are you sure it’s not going to get violent?"
"Clark, it's okay. You too, calm down. My brother may be big, but he’s not a scary person."
"Grrr..."
When Ruth stroked its body soothingly, the Ocal snorted in dissatisfaction as it returned to its lying position. However, its ears and tail were erect, so it was clear that it was still on guard. As expected, it was an animal, so it was difficult to not be wary of someone this big. It quickly let its guard down in front of Ruth, but that was probably because he wasn't that big.
"Is that okay?"
"It's fine, it's pretty well behaved. It won't try to run away or anything."
"That's good then... but that's not the issue. Ruth, you have to take that Ocal and leave the room quickly, and then go to the guest room since there's no other option."
"Why?"
"Mom and Dad were just talking about checking the storage room to see if there was any damage."
"What!?"
Apparently, since something like that had happened in Ruth's room, they decided to check other rooms for any damage as well. Clark, who had a room along the same corridor, had already been asked about the condition of his room.
"Should we hurry?"
"Dad's still sorting the firewood, but he'll be there soon."
"L-let's hurry."
Ruth tried to get the Ocal to walk to the guest room, but Clark warned him that it would be a problem if they were seen. In the end, they decided that Ruth would carry the Ocal on his back and cover it with a cloth to keep it hidden, just like how they brought it in the first place.
"Calm down, we're just moving. It's only for a little while."
"Grrrr~"
"I'll bring you lots of food later, okay?"
"...Grr..."
"Clark, cover it with a cloth now."
"R-right."
While the food had lured the Ocal into submission, Clark had it cover with a cloth so that it could hide. By wrapping it so that only his mouth could breathe, Ruth looked like he was just carrying a large load.
"I'll carry the small luggage, so go ahead."
"En. Make sure to bring those books over there."
"Okay, okay."
Clark gave Ruth the key to the guest room and snuck out of the storage room. The Ocal, who understood what they were saying, kept quiet.
Walking through the main house's hallway, Ruth exited towards the inn and was about to pass through the dining room when—
"Oh my, Ruth? What's with that package?"
Ruth nearly jumped when he heard a voice from behind him. However, he took a deep breath and turned around nonchalantly.
It was Julia. She asked Ruth when she could use the bath, and he replied that he'd let her know once it was ready. Her expression softened a little, but she was still tense. Given what had happened to her fiancé, it was understandable. Not knowing what else to say, Ruth gave a vague smile and excused himself.
"Ah…"
"Oh, hello, Nikola."
Then, as he was walking past the stairs after leaving the dining room, he encountered Nikola, who was coming down the stairs. Nikola seemed to want to say something, but after some hesitation, he left without a word. Ruth couldn't quite figure out his behavior but decided not to pursue it.
"Ruth, that's a big load you've got there. I'll cheer you on—handle it carefully."
"Ah, yes. Thank you very much."
Next, Ruth ran into Wonok. He seemed to be thirsty and asked if there was anyone in the restaurant. When he told him that Celine must be there, he muttered "Boroa stew" and walked off cheerfully. Ruth couldn't imagine someone quenching their thirst with stew, but he simply stared at the distance, thinking that Wonok was someone who went at their own pace.
"Hey, Ruth."
The last person he encountered was Seju. Seju tucked his purple-black hair behind his ear and narrowed his already thin eyes even further. Seeing Ruth with a large load, Seju seemed concerned and struck up a conversation.
"About that room situation—where are you planning to sleep tonight?"
"Oh, well, there's a storage room next door, so I think I'll sleep there."
"Sounds cold, that must be rough."
"Haha."
As Ruth was casually chatting away, praying for the conversation to end quickly, Seju finally seemed to remember why he had come out of the room and headed straight for the toilet. Before leaving, he asked Ruth to bring some tea with Brandy to the sofa in the dining hall.
(What bad timing... but I'm glad I didn't get found out.)
In the end, he ended up meeting all the customers, but thankfully no one seemed particularly concerned about what was behind Ruth.
After seeing Seju off, Ruth headed to the innermost room and quickly closed the door. He then put down the Ocal, who he was carrying, but for some reason, it was strangely quiet. Its ears were drooping and its tail was wrapped around its body.
"Huh, what's wrong? Wait, hold on..."
Then, it headed towards the bed in the room, but instead of climbing on top of it, it quickly slipped into the gap between the bed and the floorboards. It had been so excited until it was on his back, but now it even looked scared.
(Did carrying it scare it? Or maybe it was the blanket being thrown over it?)
Either way, even when Ruth called out to it, the Ocal absolutely refused to come out from under the bed. Puzzled, Ruth locked the door and left the room.
After that, the day passed by surprisingly peacefully, as if the morning commotion never occurred. The blizzard outside the window was still as loud as ever, but inside the inn it was warm thanks to the fireplace, and they had properly stored up food so no one was worried.
Seju invited Ruth and Clark to play cards to cheer them up. Ruth wondered if it was inappropriate, given everything that had happened with Herald, but it seemed he was the only one thinking that way. To these seasoned travelers, who were constantly on the road and risking their lives, dwelling on such things seemed odd. In the end, Ruth and the others decided to have fun playing cards with Nikola and Wonok. Seju’s approach was a bit much, but his social nature was appreciated. Surprisingly, despite his muscular appearance, Nikola turned out to be quite a strategist, while Wonok, having never played before, lost repeatedly.
Julia, who hadn't shown up at morning or lunch, showed up at dinner and ate a small amount. It seemed that Celine had encouraged her, and the two had become good friends. As if the awkward tension between them earlier had never existed, they were now having a great time chatting about various things about Rossa.
At first, Ruth had been on high alert, but everything seemed so peaceful that by the time dinner time came around he had relaxed quite a bit.
(I hope the next few days pass by just as quietly...)
He was worried about Herald, who remained in a comatose state, and the Ocal, who had refused to come out from under the bed. But there was nothing he could do about Herald for the time being, and as for the Ocal, it still ate the lunch Ruth gave it, so it didn’t seem to be unwell. Worrying too much wouldn’t help.
"Ruth, where are you going to sleep tonight?"
Rossa asked him this question as the four of them gathered in the living room of the main house after the guests had finished dinner. Celine had told him that Ruth would be sleeping in the storeroom, just like Ruth had told Seju, but his father frowned.
"There aren't even any beds in there. Don’t go there, you'll make yourself sick. Why don't you ask Clark to let you stay with him again?"
"No, two days in a row is a bit much..."
In truth, he hadn’t even stayed one night, but he played along with the conversation. Honestly, the option of sleeping with Clark was not one Ruth would consider. Sleeping with another man is something he’d like to avoid, even just visually.
(Though, come to think of it, I used to sleep with Alec a lot...)
There were times when Alec would come over to play and stay the night in Ruth's room. When that happened, Alec always wanted to sleep with Ruth, so when you think about it, the act of two men sleeping together was something they did quite often.
(Yeah... no. Besides Alec... I can’t imagine sleeping with another man.)
He’d gotten used to Alec so it didn’t bother him, but he'd rather not lie in bed with someone of the same sex. If you slept next to someone in a small bed, you could smell them and feel their body heat, so unless you were really comfortable with each other, I think it would be awkward. Sleeping on the floor with others was fine, but sharing a bed was different.
(When Alec falls asleep, he hugs me and presses his lips against strange places. He does unexpected things when he's half asleep... if anyone else had done that to me... ugh.)
Just imagining it with another person of the same sex gave him goosebumps. Alec had been sleeping with him since they were little, so Ruth didn't mind, but there was no way he could do it with someone else.
"Well then, no choice but to use the inn."
"Huh, is that okay?"
"Even if it's for guests, we can't have you sleeping on the sofa or the floor when there are spare beds. Unless you’d rather sleep with us?"
"I'll use the inn."
It might have been possible when he was a child, but at his age, sleeping in his parents' bed was completely unacceptable, so Ruth quickly refused.
"There's probably nothing to worry about, but still, be careful of what's outside the window."
With that, Ruth made his way over to the inn. Since he'd be staying there, it was decided that entering and leaving early in the morning or late at night might disturb the other guests, so his work was split among the other three.
Ruth took an early bath and headed to the spare guest room—the room where the Ocal was sleeping. Since the guests had already retreated to their rooms, the hallways were empty, allowing him to move without drawing attention.
"I brought you dinner, you know?"
"….."
Ruth entered the room and turned on the lamp, and while calling out to it, he put its meal on the floor and looked under the bed. The Ocal was still hiding under there as usual, but when Ruth showed it the meal he had brought, it somehow managed to come out with a reluctant look on its face. However, its tail flicked nervously as it cautiously scanned the room.
"There's no one else here but me."
"….."
It neither growled nor replied, but perhaps relieved by Ruth's words, the Ocal finally let its guard down a little and took a bite of the meal he had brought—the Boroa Hamburger Steak. As it ate, it seemed to get more excited with each bite, and its tail began to wag. At times like these, it was good to have someone who liked to eat.
Ruth sat on the edge of the bed and opened Jio's spellbook that Clark had brought for him. But as expected, there was no response. Time passed and his magic power recovered a little, but nothing had happened since then, so he thought it would be better not to write anything that would unnecessarily stir up worry and closed the book.
Then, as if he had been waiting for Ruth to close the book, the Ocal finished its meal and rested its chin on Ruth's lap from the front. Its beautiful pale purple eyes caught Ruth's gaze as its tongue flicked out to lick around its mouth. However, there were still crumbs of hamburger steak stuck to the areas it couldn't reach.
"Are you asking me to wipe it?"
Although it didn't bark, its tail wagged slightly as if in response. It seemed it was waiting for Ruth to wipe its face. Ruth gave a wry smile at its behavior and wiped its mouth with the towel he had with him as it had requested. It seemed like bringing a wet towel was a good idea.
"There, it's wiped. I’m done."
"...Woof."
Hearing the small reply that seemed to express its gratitude, Ruth couldn't help but grin. He then grabbed the fur on its face and stroked it affectionately, and the Ocal wagged his tail in delight.
(This is it, this… I’ve always wanted to do this!)
In his previous life, he had a strict father and was never able to have a dog, so he had no memory of ever having one. But he knew he’d always loved dogs, and it was this longing that led him to try to get the Ocal to like him. So he was happy that his wish had finally come true.
"Well, that's it. It's getting late so let's go to bed."
"Woof."
Ruth got into bed with a smile on his face after receiving an honest reply. He was about to share the hot water bottle he had brought with him to the Ocal when, for some reason, he noticed that the other had climbed onto the bed.
"...Are you going to sleep here?"
".....Woof."
"I'm going to have no place to sleep..."
As he said this, the Ocal lightly bit the hem of Ruth's clothes, as if refusing to let him move.
"Are you saying you want to sleep together?”
Instead of replying, the Ocal pushed Ruth against the wall with its nose and lay down on the front side of the bed. It was the same sleeping position Ruth had seen the Ocal take many times before, so his guess was probably correct.
(Well, it's an Ocal, so I guess it's fine...)
If it wasn't a man or a woman, or even a human or beastman, there was no need to think too deeply about it. In the end, Ruth just lay down.
However, smelling the Ocal next to him, he decided that he would definitely give him a bath the next day.
★☆★
Noir: This chapter was soo long, so sorry I took too long to upload guys. The only thing that I like to translate are the parts where Ruth takes care of the dog tbh I couldnt care less about the other characters in this arc lol. Also changing all the Wuu’s to Grr’s cause it’s supposed to be a low growl.
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