Konbini Ossan Volume 3 Chapter 27 — The Old Man Who Sleeps Beside Them
Once the soup was finished, all that was left was to sleep.
We hadn’t brought much luggage, so we huddled in the shadow of some rocks, wrapped in our cloaks.
It wasn’t comfortable, but if we crawled into sleeping bags, we wouldn’t be able to move quickly in an emergency.
For adventurers, the basic rule was to sleep in a state where you could act at any moment.
For a while, Arisa and I kept watch while the four children lay down to try and sleep.
But they must not have been able to settle, because they kept fidgeting restlessly.
Eventually, unable to take it anymore, Joan-kun sat up. He shuffled over to me and plopped down at my side, leaning on my shoulder.
“What’s wrong, Joan-kun?”
“The ground’s too hard, I can’t sleep, Ossan.”
“I see. But there’s no helping it this time. Try to find a position that makes it easier to rest.”
“Then sleep next to me, Ossan!”
Joan suddenly blurted something unexpected.
“If you’re nearby, I feel like I’ll be able to relax and sleep.”
(E/N: He's just a kid, he's craving for parental love…)
“Is that so? I see.”
Certainly, a sense of security was important for sleep. If you stayed tense, drowsiness would never come.
“Very well. Shall we sleep together then?”
“Yeah!”
I went back with Joan-kun to where the others lay, and we stretched out in an open space together.
“Hehe, it really does feel calmer when you’re here, Ossan.”
“Is that so?”
Honestly, I hadn’t thought my presence would matter that much.
“You know, in that first fight today — when I was in danger, you saved me, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That’s when I realized. When you’re close, I feel safe, calm... I don’t know how to say it, but just happy.
…
So I thought even if the ground’s hard, if you’re with me, I can sleep.”
Hmm. The root cause was today’s battle then. Fear during combat flipped into trust because I saved him, making me someone to rely on.
If my presence alone calmed him, then I’d stay with him.
“That’s not fair, Joan!”
Rosa sat up and came over.
“I want to sleep next to Otsugi-oji-chan too!”
“You as well, Rosa-san?”
It seemed I was more popular with the children than I thought. Rosa slipped in on my other side, hugged me tightly, and pressed her cheek against mine.
“Ojichan, you really are cute.”
(E/N: Well, kids are usually very straightforward, there's no other emotion involved other than admiration, right???)
“Cute, am I?”
“Yes. You’re like a cave dwarf. I like you, Oji-chan.”
I see. So my resemblance to a storybook character worked in my favor here. To Rosa, I must have seemed like something to cuddle, like a pet.
“If it’s fine for those two, then us as well.”
“We want to sleep with you too, Oji-sama.”
Then Tiana-chan and Tio-kun rose and came over. With Joao and Rosa already filling my sides, the twins leaned over and draped themselves on top of me.
“You couldn’t sleep either?”
“Yeah. But Mama told us too.”
“She said, ‘Your Oji-sama might be a lolicon, so make sure to tempt him.’”
(E/N: How should I even interpret this?! Hell no!)
So it was intentional from the start. But do they even understand what temptation means?
“You say tempt, but do you know what that means?”
“No. Mama said we could just leave it to you, Oji-sama.”
“I don’t really know either, but please do as you like, Oji-sama.”
(E/N: People of this world throw words too easily!)
This was troubling. Of course, I had no intention of laying a hand on children this age.
And besides, the others were here as well. I couldn’t give in to temptation. But ignoring them outright would also be cruel.
(E/N: What temptation, Unc?!?! Ya sick bastard!)
“Then, let’s do this instead.”
I pulled all four children close and wrapped them up in my arms. The message was clear — let’s just huddle together and sleep.
“Good night, everyone.”
In my embrace, the children closed their eyes, their faces peaceful and at ease.
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E/N:
…No comments 😔 I'm mentally exhausted! Stay tuned!
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