DLBF Chapter 46

Chapter 46 – The Sun-Warmed Beast of Gold (Part 1)

Chapter Side Story, Part 1

Novel Title: ルーデンドルフ公と森の獣 (Duke Ludendorff and the Beast of the Forest)

Author：かわい有美子 (Kawai Yumiko)

Illustrator: 周防佑未 (Suoh Yuumi)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 藤森賢士 (Kenji Fujimori -MC), ユリアン ルーデンドルフ (Julian Ludendorff -ML)

*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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After overseeing the midway inspection of the mansion’s repair work, Fujimori was seeing off several workers from the construction company at the entrance when Tanba returned in his small truck with the chef, Forst, on board.

“Welcome back,” Fujimori greeted both Forst and Tanba.

“How was your vacation?”

“Not bad,” Forst responded, surprisingly cheerful at Fujimori’s bright inquiry.

Apparently, the day before Fujimori returned from Tokyo, a taxi driver had seen Forst on his way back to Germany for his vacation. It was a standard one-month summer holiday, typical in Europe.

“I also got all the seasonings that were running low. You can look forward to my cooking starting today,” Forst said, winking as he helped unload the cargo from the truck bed. Fujimori tilted his head, wondering if Forst’s good mood was due to enjoying his vacation.

“Your cooking has always been delicious, though,” Fujimori remarked.

“My cooking is much more than that,” Forst quipped with a grin, then called out to Tanba, who was about to climb back into the truck.

Opening the heavy cardboard box Fujimori had unloaded, Forst pulled out a bottle of liquor.

“This is for Herr Tanba.”

He casually handed over the bare bottle as a souvenir.

“Liquor?” Tanba scrutinised the bottle and glanced at Forst, his lips curling into a smile. It seemed he liked the gift.

“Tell him it’s whiskey. German whiskey isn’t very well-known. But the quality is high,” Forst explained.

Fujimori translated Forst’s words. Tanba grinned again before getting into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll drink it tonight.”

Tanba lightly raised the whiskey bottle towards Forst from the driver’s seat window and then started the truck.

As Fujimori watched Tanba drive off, he thought to himself that it was the first time he had seen Tanba smile. Turning back to Forst, who was still standing with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, Fujimori found it strange how they seemed to connect, even though they didn’t really speak the same language. Perhaps it was a bond between craftsmen, despite the apparent ten-year age difference between them.

Helping Forst, Fujimori pushed the cart with the bottles of liquor around to the back entrance of the kitchen.

Ever since Julian had calmed down, they had been catering meals from a restaurant two stations away while Forst was gone. However, the portions were smaller, and the quality of the bread was different. Julian had complained that it was tough to endure every day.

As Fujimori walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway, he encountered Julian, who seemed to be looking for him.

“Is the inspection done?” Julian asked with a gentle expression.

Whether it was because he hadn’t witnessed firsthand Julian in his werewolf form rampaging, Fujimori couldn’t help but think that, werewolf or not, Julian still had a delicate and shy demeanour.

Julian had at least come out to greet the construction workers as the owner of the mansion. But he seemed reluctant to spend too much time with them, embarrassed at the idea of them scrutinising the damage he had caused. 

Fujimori found that endearing and patted the tall man on the shoulder, though he really wanted to reach up and run his fingers through Julian’s complexly shaded golden hair. However, since he’d have to stretch his arms and stand on tiptoes to do so, he settled for patting his shoulder instead.

“Will it be fixed properly?” Julian asked, a bit worried.

“Don’t worry, they’re a reliable company. There are many skilled artisans in this area, and they said they can restore the carved decorations at the entrance without a trace,” Fujimori reassured him. It was difficult to admit that Julian had been the one who caused the damage. So he told the construction workers that the interior of the mansion had been ransacked by an intruder, which caused them to nearly jump out of their skins in surprise.

Then, someone suggested introducing a construction company that specialises in repairing old buildings. In such situations, having an authority in architecture is invaluable. With Professor Fushimi’s name backing them, the construction company was very meticulous in their work.

Fortunately, Fujimori had taken numerous photos of the mansion, allowing for a near-complete restoration. Some parts were already deteriorating due to age, and they mentioned that those areas could be repaired as well.

Professor Fushimi’s formal survey would be conducted again after the repairs were completed.

“I’m sorry,” Julian said. His shoulders were slumped. Even though it was his own mansion, he was quite disheartened by the damage he had caused to a mansion that Fujimori had grown fond of.

“It’s not like the mansion can’t be fixed,” Fujimori replied, feeling relieved that at least the intricate, antique stained glass windows hadn’t been broken.

Julian, with a troubled smile, leaned down and kissed Fujimori on the cheek.

Paul passed by, carrying freshly laundered sheets. He merely puffed up one of his pale blue eyes before continuing up the stairs.

Fujimori recently learned that Paul was Frau Gessner’s son—in other words, Wagahai was Hilde’s son.

Julian had mentioned that he had known both Wagahai and Hilde since they were children. But it seemed that, in truth, they had lived much longer than Julian himself.

Julian’s grandfather used to tell him, as Hilde sat on his lap, that there had been a cat very similar to this one when he was a child.

Entities like ‘bakeneko’ or ‘werecat’ are supernatural cat spirits. They aren’t widely known outside of Japan. So it’s unclear whether Wagahai belongs to the ‘bakeneko’ lineage that settled at Julian’s home country, or if they are connected to the werewolves that occasionally appear in the Ludendorff family.

However, Julian said that when he was a child and cried out of loneliness, Hilde and Wagahai would often take on human forms to play with him and soothe him.

Fujimori was more intrigued by the idea of Frau Gessner taking care of a child than by the truth of the story. After all, it was she who had guided Fujimori to Julian’s place, showing that she might be much kinder than her appearance suggests.

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*Translator’s Note: I wonder what that Whiskey tastes like though… -K

Illustration 9:

Next update: 2024.12.05

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