You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 33

“Yes. However, there is something suspicious.”

Karhan motioned with a slight nod for him to continue speaking. Claude, who had briefly paused, frowned slightly and continued.

“For some reason, while the viscount was hanging himself, no one outside knew anything about it.”

Karhan narrowed his eyes and raised his right hand, rubbing his chin with his index finger and thumb.

After Cheep’s condition stabilized, he heard the story from Doel. He said he had met a strange platinum-blond man. At first, he thought he was just someone from the viscount’s family, but when the man chanted a bizarre incantation, Doel’s body lost strength, and he moved according to the man’s orders. It was presumed that Cheep had also become seriously injured due to his power.

Doel said he couldn’t remember well what incantation the man had spoken, probably because he was in such a state of confusion. However, he did remember the short incantation that had stopped and controlled his movements. The incantation he had spoken was in a very familiar form.

“Si duiquor.”

Karhan couldn’t not know. In this world, there were only two types of beings who knew such a form of speech and could infuse power into it. Among them, the one with the possibility was the race called Arma. It was the very race that Karhan himself had descended from, mixed with their blood.

To ordinary people, they were simply a race from legends passed down as myths. When this world was created and formed, the beings created by the gods were called Dragons, and those born from indiscriminate nature were the Arma. The Arma were born from nature and were nature itself.

They possessed abilities that embraced nature. They had long lifespans like Dragons and physical abilities far superior to humans, but unfortunately, their mental strength was merely on par with ordinary humans.

As time passed and the world stabilized, and humans were created, the Arma, who had been living meaningless lives as their duties gradually disappeared, chose to vanish into nature one by one. After that, the Dragons also entered eternal slumber, summoned by the gods.

As far as Karhan knew, there was only one Dragon currently in existence, and he wasn’t the type to cause such troublesome matters. Then, there was only one remaining possibility. That it was an Arma, the same race as his ancestors.

If they had the ability to manipulate Doel and Cheep at will, there was a high probability that it was an Arma with much purer blood than himself. At that realization, his brow furrowed deeply on its own.

It was an extraordinary ability. An ability powerful enough to manipulate people’s minds at will. Perhaps due to his ability, the soldiers guarding the prison knew nothing. The viscount’s death must have also been a murder disguised as suicide. Although he had never directly seen it, there was a scent of danger.

He never wanted to let Cheep encounter him again, but he had an uneasy feeling that they would have a deep, ill-fated connection. With downcast eyes, he looked away, then shook his head and picked up documents that could be reviewed tomorrow for no reason.

“Your Grace. Are you not going to the training hall today?”

“Ah. Starting tomorrow… I might not be able to go for a few days.”

To wander around the village together during the Three Days of Athlena, he had to handle a few days’ worth of work in advance. Thinking that he wouldn’t be able to focus on exercise for a few days, he immersed himself in work.

🐤

As several days passed and it was the day just before the start of the Three Days of Athlena, Karhan and I were immersed in walking practice together.

“Come a little closer.”

I stuck my butt out like a duck to maintain balance and swung my arms widely, taking one step at a time. Compared to a few days ago, my walking form was the same, but the speed was a bit faster.

Karhan, who was reaching out his hand in front of me, annoyingly kept escaping backward little by little. There was a hint of strange pleasure in his eyes.

“Don’t keep moving away!”

He told me to come just one step closer! Why do you keep backing away! Displeased with his actions, I frowned deeply and glared at Karhan. Annoyingly, the corners of his mouth were slightly curled up. It seemed like he was teasing me. He was like someone who lied about holding the back of a bike when learning to ride as a child. In reality, he wasn’t holding it at all.

I wasn’t completely accustomed to human legs yet, and I needed rehabilitation training due to some pain. I wanted to walk around and sightsee on my own during the festival, but it seemed impossible with my current condition. Still, I was working hard with the determination to walk on my own to some extent. Although I was in a strange state with my butt sticking out.

“Hand! Hand!”

Just before the strength in my legs gave out and I fell backward, I shouted urgently and stretched out my hand. Karhan, who was standing in front, immediately reached out and grasped my hand. He gently pulled me, not letting it hurt, and helped me lean against his chest without falling backward. With a place to lean on, I relaxed the strength in my trembling legs and slowly sat down on the floor. I worked hard again today.

Seeing the sweat beading on my forehead from the rehabilitation training, Karhan held out his hand to the attendant. The attendant, who had been waiting on the side, quickly handed over the towel he was holding, and Karhan, who received it, carefully wiped my forehead, tapping it gently.

“You walked quite a bit. You went around the room once.”

“Once?”

You kept going back, saying you were going back, but you went back a whole round, you naughty one. I felt like plucking out those annoying hairs that had newly transformed, one by one, with my huge beak. Of course, I held back because the protagonist shouldn’t become bald.

Although having a human body was nice, a bird’s body was very convenient in certain situations, so I tried to transform into a bird again, but it wasn’t easy. I tried putting strength into the small wings attached to my back, putting strength into my head, and working hard, but I couldn’t succeed.

It was like the feeling of being in a corner of the room as a child, putting my hands together and thinking, ‘I can shoot out energy, yah!’ By the way, I didn’t tell anyone about what I had secretly done in my room.

The legs, which I had forced to use strength while walking, were trembling slightly. When I stretched out my hand and tapped my legs, the trembling finally stopped. The feeling of the leg muscles twitching uncontrollably wasn’t very pleasant, so I clenched my fists tightly with both hands and tapped them, but suddenly, a large hand approached and stopped my punching. Like a goalkeeper, it swooped down under my hand and grasped my fist.

I looked at the hand much larger than mine and traced my gaze up to see its owner. It was none other than Karhan. With his large hand enveloping my clenched fist, he lifted it up to make it touch my chest and then let go.

Stunned by the interrupted action, I blinked my eyes innocently, with both hands clasped against my chest like someone wearing handcuffs. What was he doing? Looking up at Karhan, he placed his hand on my thigh and started massaging it gently with a little strength.

“Since your body is still unwell, kneading would be better.”

Karhan’s hands were large enough to cover my entire thigh. It wasn’t that my legs were that small, but with his large hands kneading them, they looked like a child’s legs. Perhaps due to the swordsmanship he diligently honed at the training grounds, his hands weren’t entirely soft, but they were very firm and warm.

As I was watching him knead and massage with curiosity, I suddenly felt a gaze and raised my head to look behind Karhan. The attendant standing behind him was at a loss, holding a towel in his hand. He alternately glanced at my legs and Karhan with an uneasy gaze. Why? He glanced around, then opened his mouth that had been tightly shut.

“Your Grace. Please leave such tasks to me, your attendant.”

It probably didn’t look good for someone of the high status of a duke to be giving a massage to someone else. I also thought the same and grabbed Karhan’s hand to stop him. Somehow, the warm sensation I felt on my thigh disappeared in an instant, making me feel a little disappointed. Karhan immediately withdrew his hand and patted my head.

“Cheep. When midnight comes, the Three Days of Athlena will begin. There will be quite a lot to see, so get some rest.”

“O-Okay.”

Cheep…

When the name Cheep was first given to me, I didn’t like it because it was too simple and straightforward. However, as time passed and Karhan kept calling me that, I eventually recognized it as my name and thought it wasn’t too bad for a pet name.

That was a bit of a problem. Even after returning to being human, I felt a little embarrassed and regretful to still be called Cheep. I was a person now, and I had my original name.

Yoo Seol.

‘Seol’ was my name when I was human. I was lost in thought, internally pondering, and lowered my head, when Karhan put his arms behind my back and under my knees, lifting me up. I automatically looked up at his sharp jawline. This is my little inner thought, but I wondered how it would feel if Karhan called me by my name.

Karhan, who had picked me up, walked with large strides and carefully laid me down on the soft bed. He didn’t forget to lift the thick blanket and cover my knees.

I gazed at Karhan’s face as he diligently moved his hands. It was a cold, expressionless face, but I could see him caring about various things.

What would his reaction be if I told him I had a real name? Would he think what kind of name a bird would have, or would he still call me Cheep?

On impulse, I grabbed the sleeve of Karhan’s clothes as he was about to leave the room. Karhan, who was suddenly grabbed, lowered his head and looked at me. His stiff face was mixed with bewilderment.

“Do you have something to say?”

I hesitated slightly. Would he be offended? He had already given me a name.

The numerous selves within me started bickering with each other. Cheep was also pretty good, and I had adapted to it. But still, I had a name from when I lived as a human. And I wanted Karhan to call me by it.

As I held onto his sleeve without saying a word, Karhan’s large hand touched my cheek. He turned my face slightly to the left to make me face him. My reflection appeared in Karhan’s silver-gray eyes. In his eyes, there was me with pure white silver hair. Although my appearance was different, it was me. I parted my hesitant lips.

“You know, Karhan… I have a name.”

I struggled to open my mouth, and Karhan patiently listened to my story.

“Before I met Karhan, I had a name that I was originally called. …Could you possibly call me by that name?”