Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 55

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“Was Sugar here?”

<Sugar was not here!>

With her magic interrupted and her form becoming blurry, Sugar struck a proud pose and said.

I couldn’t fathom what was so enjoyable, but after chuckling for a while, she flew off to the dollhouse I had placed in a corner of my room.

“Ha.”

My sigh deepened as I watched her go.

The past few days with Sugar under contract were nothing short of hell.

Except for our household members, she wouldn’t show herself to anyone.

She promised not to touch any gold coins other than what I gave her.

That was the deal I struck when supplying her with magic.

“Ow. Why do I keep feeling a prick in my back since earlier?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

“If it wasn’t you, was it the ghost? There are only two of us here.”

“What ghost? You’re the one hallucinating… Ouch! Why am I being jabbed in the back if I didn’t do anything!”

“What? How could I stab you in the back when you and I are facing each other like this!”

“B-but just now…”

“….”

“Peekaboo. Did you call for Sugar by any chance?”

“Eeeek! It’s a ghost!”

Sugar, the stubborn five-year-old troublemaker, was the epitome of a neighborhood gang leader.

Her mischievous antics toward the household staff only added to my fearsome reputation.

Eventually, I resorted to blocking the magic sent to Sugar during the day when the staff resided in the mansion.

Only then could I quell the ghostly commotion in the annex.

After reluctantly handing over the gold coins, I glanced at Sugar, who finally shut her mouth and turned her head away with a disgruntled look.

Leo was attending his morning lessons under the guidance of Sir Penadel.

Even to an outsider like me, Leo’s stance with the wooden sword seemed quite convincing.

He looked like a little lion cub sharpening his claws and practicing with a toy whip, which was both cute and endearing.

With a satisfied smile, I brought up the stats window for a brief check, blinking for a moment as I did so.

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T/N: I previously translated Stamina as Health, but I think Stamina fits better so I change it from now on.

No matter how I looked at it, some of the stats seemed off.

It had only been a month since he started magic lessons. These stats… were they accurate?

In contrast, the rate at which his divine power was increasing was disappointingly slow.

And most of all, his stamina.

‘He’s been more diligent in his sword training since the day he came back from the festival.’

It’s a frightening growth spurt that makes me wonder if Sir Penadel is secretly pumping Leo with nourishing tonics.

“Sir, would you mind showing me Ratchet’s training schedule?”

Penadel readily handed me the schedule as I rushed out this morning.

’I thought there was something wrong with his stamina stat.’

My hand trembled as I held the schedule.

“This is the schedule you put my servant through?”

“Yes, I have.”

Penadel’s tone was casual as if there was no problem.

I gripped the schedule tightly in my hand and sternly retorted.

“My Ratchet is extremely delicate, feeble, and frail!”

Is it reasonable to subject someone as small and precious as Leo to morning, afternoon, and evening training sessions?

You have no blood, no tears!

I was about to demand a reduction in the intensity of the lessons when I heard a shocked voice from behind.

“Feeble…….”

‘No way…….’

I stiffened and turned around, feeling a sense of dread.

Leo, a wooden sword in his hands, was wide-eyed, like a child who had just been told the shocking truth that there was no Santa.

“Feeble…”

The shock must have been great because Leo repeated the same word twice.

I stood there, speechless, my mouth opening and closing, my hand reaching out and then pulling back.

No, Leo. That’s not what I meant…

“I’m just going to…… take a…… break.”

Leo’s shoulders drooped and he staggered away.

I couldn’t even bring myself to stop the dejected Leo.

I didn’t know what this mouth was going to say.

“…….”

Standing there for a while like that, I finally sat down on a nearby bench, feeling lost.

After a while, I sensed someone approaching, and sure enough, Penadel quietly sat down next to me.

After a long pause, Penadel found the words and spoke calmly.

“Ratchet isn’t as feeble, fragile, weak, flimsy, or soft as you think, Master.”

I know. I know…

Leo doesn’t complain no matter what I ask him to do.

He seems to enjoy learning, and while he dreams of becoming a knight, perhaps he’s enduring without showing how tough it is.

“Hasn’t Leo… found learning swordsmanship difficult?”

“He has. But training is supposed to be difficult.”

Damn it. I should have known Penadel was always too brutally honest.

When I opened my mouth to ask if Leo was finding it difficult to keep up with the lessons and if he was showing any signs of dislike or reluctance.

“He’s a strong boy, and I think it’s for his own good that you trust him.”

All the questions I’d planned to ask him were thrown out the window in an instant.

I took a look at myself.

I realized that maybe all my worries about Leo were hurting him.

He’s a hardworking kid, and I’m sure he’s trying harder than anyone else.

Instead of praising his efforts, I might have inadvertently belittled them by being overly protective.

I pondered for a moment, then asked Sir Penadel another question.

“Does Ratchet enjoy the swordsmanship lessons?”

“Yes, he enjoys them very much.”

His response, delivered as if he had been waiting for the question, made me realize that Penadel’s presence by my side had been a form of comfort in itself.

His comfort wasn’t the type to pat someone on the back or offer soothing words, but rather to wait patiently until the person stood up on their own.

I felt fortunate that someone like Penadel was Leo’s swordsmanship instructor.

“And even if you didn’t know there was a child here, it was wrong to describe him as feeble, frail, weak, flimsy, and soft. So, please refrain from calling the child feeble, frail…”

“Alright, I get it. Just stop.”

If only someone would tell this tin can that if he wants to console someone, he should stop repeating the other person’s mistakes over and over again.

After a deep sigh, I stood up abruptly.

’I need to apologize to Leo.’

Whether it was Penadel’s comforting words or his stern admonition, I felt a surge of energy.

I decided to move up the event that I had planned for late autumn to find the right time to apologize to Leo.

Until Terry finished dealing with the assassins, I refrained from going out, which inadvertently meant Leo couldn’t properly enjoy the festival either.

I didn’t even get to see the parade the first day because of my stamina and the attack…….

It bothered me deep down, so I had been planning to organize a small contest within the mansion for Leo, which I considered the highlight of the festival.

I had already prodded Terry to ask Leo what he would like to compete in if he could, and I had his answer.

I immediately instructed the staff to prepare various ingredients and gathered only my people for the event, although Cheshire had to join us due to the magic class, it didn’t deviate much from my plan.

I addressed the puzzled faces with a serious expression.

“The reason I gathered everyone here is to host a small contest at my mansion to celebrate the festival.”

Everyone seemed unenthusiastic.

I understand.

Yeah, it’s already tiring enough to work during the day, so suggesting a party afterward might annoy them.

But when you hear the prize, you’ll think differently.

“I will grant the winner any wish within my power and resources.”

At that moment, everyone’s eyes genuinely changed.

“W-What are the events?”

“Gold coins! Sugar wants gold coins!”

“Does that mean anything within the power of the master…?”

“Oh, this can’t be…?”

But regardless of what they wanted; it didn’t matter to me.

’The winner is already decided.’

Terry seemed to catch on, but yes, this was a contest for Leo!

Of course, the winner was predetermined to be Leo, and he shouldn’t know about these dirty adult matters.

Fortunately, Leo answered with a cooking contest.

If he had chosen magic or swordsmanship, I would have had to think about how to manipulate the contest without Leo knowing, using dirty and risky methods to ensure Leo’s victory.

Fortunately, manipulating a cooking contest is not difficult.

“Prepare a dish that pleases my palate within the time limit. I will be the judge.”

And so, the most modest cooking contest in the world began.