Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 312
TL: Elphie / PR: Mikan
Everyone around the well looked at one another.
They all vaguely remembered chattering excitedly just moments ago, but no one could recall what the conversation had been about.
âUh⌠right! Your boyfriend! That squashed lump of cheese!â
âWhat? Hey!â
The wellside erupted into chatter again. Meanwhile, behind them, a smooth, apricot-colored tentacle quietly slipped back into the brush behind the well.
* * *
A little later, the bushes behind the house on the hillâjust the one the villagers had been talking aboutârustled softly.
[Phew, another success today!]
Chomp-chomp proudly admired the ring dangling from the end of their tentacle.
More of a bracelet than a ring given its size, this artifact was known as the Ring of Yunggolen.
Its effect? Anyone within a certain range would temporarily forget someone specific.
The downside? The memory loss wasnât permanent. At most, it would last about a week
Instead, it allowed people to forget the target naturally, without the jarring conflict of missing memories. It was like how one might not remember someone they passed on the street if they never paid attention to them.
Naturally, the couple Chomp-chomp had erased from memory using the ring just moments earlier were the very ones the villagers had been gossiping aboutâIrene and Michael.
Chomp-chomp wriggled quietly toward the kitchen.
As it poked a single tentacle through the window, it spotted Michael just coming down the stairs.
âHis Majesty is awake.â
Watching Michael stretch lazily as he moved, Chomp-chomp found it strangely fascinating.
The first time they had seen Michael, he was already the King of Monsters.
A being whose miasma was vastly beyond theirs.
Which meant they had never seen him do something as mortal as sleeping.
But now, Michael slept. He ate. And compared to when he was the Monster King, his miasma and magical force had diminished drastically.
âAnd yet…â
Chomp-chomp extended a tentacle slowly onto the kitchen table.
On the table lay vegetables that had been prepped the night before.
Among them, Chomp-chompâs eyes lit up as they spotted a large, ripe tomato.
Wow.
Mouth wide open, it was just about to swallow the tomato whole whenâ
Bang!
Something whizzed past its face and embedded itself straight into the wall.
[…]
Chomp-chomp froze on the spot. Slowly, it turned its tentacle to look. A pen was quivering where it had struck the wall, still stuck firm.
Did I just almost die trying to eat a tomato…?
Michael, the one who had thrown the pen, strolled into the kitchen with a completely calm expression and addressed Chomp-chomp.
âItâs the last tomato. I need it for Ireneâs breakfast, so eat something else.â
[You could have just told me!]
âI was in a hurry.â
[You’re so mean! I’ve been running around all morning using artifacts on the villagers, and you won’t even give me one measly tomato!]
Chomp-chomp wailed dramatically, mouth opening once more in the direction of the tomato. But Michaael merely clicked his tongue.
âTsk.â
At the sound, Chomp-chomp slowly closed its mouth.
Apparently, it was asking too much to try and sneak the tomato.
On the verge of tears, Chomp-chomp withdrew its tentacles and vanished through the window.
[You don’t understand me at all! You don’t know how hard I work!]
Michael let out a small chuckle as Chomp-chompâs voice faded into the distance.
âEat this instead.â
He reached into a drawer and pulled out an apple, then tossed it out the window.
Before it even touched the ground, Chomp-chomp snatched it midair with their mouth.
[Yes! An apple! I love you, Your Majesty!]
Watching Chomp-chomp beam with joy as they munched away, Michael turned back to the kitchen, picking up the vegetables on the table and carrying them over to the sink to rinse.
It wasnât just the vegetables. There were olives marinated in a cool spot, wine vinegar, cheese, dried fruits he had bought from the city last week, and so on…
Not to mention the eggs and bacon cooked in a pan.
After a moment, a delicious breakfast was ready.
Michael placed the food on a tray and hurried upstairs. He opened the door to the room at the end of the corridor, facing the sea, and a warm breeze came through the open window.
He placed the breakfast he had brought on the bedside table, then neatly tied the curtain fluttering in the breeze. Sitting beside the bed, he whispered to the still-sleeping person.
“Irene, it’s time to wake up.”
