Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 77

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During the few days she spent in that house, Eir couldn’t help but realize that Rubel Shinote was truly a man blessed by the gods.

What were the odds of a man and woman stranded on an isolated island—with one of them severely injured, teetering between life and death—accidentally encountering a doctor and finding shelter? And on top of that, the family they stumbled upon happened to be incredibly kind?

Sure, one of them talked too much, and the other was too quiet, but together, they balanced each other out to a level that was more than acceptable.

Eir slowly recovered her strength while staying in the house, and Rubel worked tirelessly outside, doing whatever physical labor he could to earn money.

“Honestly, how can someone be so diligent? Young lady, you really hit the jackpot with this marriage. Even if he were to die tomorrow, it doesn’t look like his family would starve.”

Eir, who was helping with the housework since she couldn’t just sit around, overheard Aunt Jane say this as she watched Rubel head out to work.

Eir glanced at Rubel’s retreating figure, dressed in the worn-out clothes of Aunt Jane’s son, and thought to herself.

‘Well, he’s not just responsible for a family—he’s responsible for the entire Divine Empire. Of course, his sense of responsibility is extraordinary.’

But seeing him chopping firewood so diligently, wearing tattered gloves, or returning home in a dusty, threadbare white shirt, wiping sweat with a towel, made him seem like an ordinary young man, just as Aunt Jane had described. It felt strange.

If he had an ordinary family or responsibilities that were manageable, maybe things would have been a little easier for him.

Though Rubel himself seemed to have no issue with the immense burden placed on him—in fact, he seemed to embrace it willingly—Eir couldn’t help but think about it for him.

“Huh? He left this behind.”

Just then, Eir noticed something and quickly picked it up. It was Rubel’s lunch, which he had forgotten.

“Ru!”

She leaned out the window and called after him, but he didn’t even turn around, as if he had suddenly gone deaf.

The last time, even when she had cast a spell to hide herself, he had immediately noticed and stabbed her without hesitation.

Aunt Jane, humming a tune, made an offhand comment.

“It’s a good time. He won’t hear you until you catch up and hand it to him, so hurry up.”

Eir, assuming Rubel was too far away to hear, quickly tied her apron and dashed after him. Her legs seemed to have weakened, and even Rubel’s pace had slowed, so she caught up to him without much trouble.

Of course, being an ordinary mortal, Eir was out of breath and her face was flushed from running.

“Ru, Ru!”

When she finally managed to call out, Rubel stopped walking, looking slightly annoyed.

“What is it?”

“Why didn’t you even turn around? Didn’t you hear me?”

As if he hadn’t heard. Rubel had deliberately left the lunchbox in a place where she would see it, hoping to create an opportunity for them to talk. But she had been too busy chatting to notice, and even after seeing it, she hadn’t picked up on the signal, calling his name from the kitchen like a fool.

“You forgot this.”

She handed him the sandwich wrapped in paper. Rubel took it and replied nonchalantly.

“I know.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you even working there? Don’t you realize you’re a patient?”

Eir’s confidence deflated at Rubel’s sharp tone.

“Well………. I’m almost healed, and it felt weird just lying around while you’re working.”

“If you feel bad about me working, just stay in bed. If you push yourself and get sick again, it’ll only make things harder.”

He spoke bluntly, his brow slightly furrowed as if something was bothering him. Eir hesitated, watching his expression.

“The wounds are healing well. You check them every day, after all.”

Honestly, she couldn’t help but feel cautious. Rubel was also a patient. She had seen him changing his bandages every day. But unlike Eir, who was confined to bed, he worked tirelessly every day to earn money and slept on a narrow, single-person chair at night.

They had lied about being married, so they had to share a room with only one bed. Even when Eir insisted he join her on the bed, he stubbornly refused. It wasn’t like he was avoiding intimacy—Eir figured he was worried about accidentally aggravating her injuries while sleeping.