Bear’s Honey Chapter 16: Side Story: The Honey-Sweet Everyday Life [END]

This is a short story by the same author as Home of the Zerg that I decided to do for my birthday. So I hope you enjoy this birthday release from me.

-Addis

Chapter 16: Side Story: The Honey-Sweet Everyday Life

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: uKarateChopMonkey

“It’s hard to imagine that in less than ten years, you’ve really achieved it…” Alphard crossed his arms and looked at the unexpected guest sitting on the sofa.

The wandering bard Zack visited once every two years, initially just a routine check to see if Alphard had run away. He even hoped the other would perform cloning magic for him.

Although Alphard had a terrible temper, Brand, as the “gatekeeper,” “valet,” “janitor,” “gardener,” and “bricklayer” of this Mage Tower, was always enthusiastic, pouring a cup of hot tea every time and sometimes offering biscuits as well. The unique interaction between these two guys gave the bard Zack a lot of inspiration for his creations.

Last year when he visited Alphard’s Mage Tower, he was surprised to find that this guy had actually become a master of eighth-circle necromancy before he turned forty.

After praising him, Zack jokingly asked Alphard, “Is it because the lifespan of a mixed-blood demon gentleman is too long, and you worked so hard so as not to leave him alone in this world?”

In addition to being used as a contingency in case of accidental death, the wider application of cloning magic was to replicate the body. Flesh removed and catalyzed by magic would grow into a new vessel, and repeated cloning could achieve the effect of immortality. Of course, the necessary coins and materials for the magical ritual were indispensable. But generally, those who pursued immortality wouldn’t be too impoverished, so that was a minor matter.

“What did you say? I worked hard for him?” Alphard glared at Zack, instantly exploding.

The next moment, Zack was almost blasted out by Alphard.

Hearing the commotion inside the house, Brand came downstairs from the attic to check the situation. The small room in Alphard’s attic had now become a greenhouse with an open skylight, planting many magical plants and flowers, which naturally fell under Brand’s responsibility.

When asked what had happened, Alphard briefly said, “Nothing happened.”

Brand was a bit puzzled, but he scratched his head and went back upstairs.

Zack chuckled gleefully on the side, while Alphard was in a bad mood but still performed the ritual to clone him according to the contract’s agreed terms, cutting off one of his small toes and placing it in a large glass culture dish for preservation.

“Don’t die before your new body grows out.” Alphard reminded Zack as he saw him off.

Now, a year had passed, and Zack’s new body had formed. He came to visit Alphard to discuss the issue of storage fees for the future. He was a traveling bard after all, and he couldn’t just carry around a jar with a body in it.

“Hey, how can we be old acquaintances without even a cup of tea?” Zack exaggeratedly sighed, “Where’s your lover, oh no, valet?”

Alphard, annoyed, replied, “He went on a sightseeing tour of Shilton. In the middle of summer, he doesn’t even mind the heat.”

Zack was surprised. “The famous southern port city? It’s hard to imagine him leaving you alone to go out. I thought he would definitely drag you along…”

Seeing Alphard’s expression of “Stop kidding, how could I go sunbathing,” the wandering bard shrugged. “I guess I overstepped. It seems he did invite you, but it was unsuccessful.”

Alphard was feeling irritated.

Brand wasn’t around, so he had to take care of the flowers and plants in the attic himself. He rarely set foot in that area, but when he went to check it out recently, he found that Brand had somehow picked up some strange seeds from somewhere and started growing mushrooms in a dark corner, and even planted a lot of garlic in water pots… He really didn’t know what Brand was using the precious magical materials in the greenhouse for!

Brand had always wanted to go on some honeymoon trip. Alphard’s attitude towards this term was not up for discussion for now, but he casually asked Brand where he wanted to travel. When he received the answer “The seaside in summer!” even though it was winter at the time, Alphard felt like he was being sunburned by the non-existent sun, and his head was spinning.

If it were autumn and they were taking a walk in the mountains, he might have gone with him… 

In the end, Brand packed his bags and set off. Alphard didn’t go with him, but he gave him enough money for shopping, saying that there were plenty of magical materials to buy in the southern seaside area.

Although Brand was a bit depressed about turning the trip into a solo journey, getting a large sum of money and knowing that Alphard would let the death crow accompany him on the road made him excited again. As long as the death crow was there, it meant that Alphard could hear him talking and see the local scenery…!

That wasn’t much different from usual. Anyway, most of the time, Alphard would just respond with a few “uh-huh” and “yes,” not much more enthusiastic than a bird that couldn’t speak.

Although it was regrettable that he couldn’t have his fill of semen every night, there were many pleasures during the trip. He would play during the day, sleep early at night when he was tired, and Brand thought it wouldn’t matter if he went hungry for a month.

So he happily set off, chattering away with the death crow every day.

At first, Alphard was still in the basement making potions while using the crow’s body to keep an eye on the situation, but he was eventually annoyed once and nearly blew up the crucible. He wanted to complain but couldn’t speak human language, so he could only continue to be bombarded by Brand’s chatter.

He was somewhat reluctant to turn off the shared vision magical effect.

Brand rarely went out alone for such a long time, especially in recent years when he had been “well-fed.” He hadn’t lost consciousness due to hunger and attacked others instinctively as he did in the past.

Alphard wouldn’t admit it, but he had a tiny bit of wariness and concern. Although he had never explicitly acknowledged that their relationship was one-on-one, the fact should, probably, indeed be so.

If Brand dared to have any other thoughts at night, he would definitely have the death crow peck out his eyes.

Alphard swore viciously in his heart. However, it seemed that Brand was completely immersed in the joy of traveling, throwing his butt’s needs out of his mind. He picked up hemp rope and grass in the wild to weave a small shoulder bag, carrying the death crow in front of him with only its head sticking out, making it easier to hear his mutterings.

By the way, after arriving at the destination, he quickly learned how to handcraft woven straw hats, and within a couple of days, he dressed up like a local fisherman. The death crow on his chest also got a mini straw hat, which was placed on its head, making it look quite funny.

Traveling like this isn’t bad at all… 

Just as Alphard was thinking this, Brand got bored of wandering around the city and continued on to the beach. The southern sun in July was intense, and the beach was filled with men and women dressed in light clothing, as well as many children catching clams and fishing, making it more crowded than the morning market alley.

Brand was extremely excited, and his tail, curled up into a ball hidden in his linen trousers, wagged restlessly. He quickly immersed himself in the fun, spending days playing until he got himself sunburned dark, resembling a roasted chestnut.

Although the vision through the eyes of the death crow wasn’t as clear as being there in person, Alphard was still irritated by the enthusiastic atmosphere and the bright summer sunlight, feeling almost faint at home amidst the noisy crowds and dazzling sunlight.

But Brand was having a great time. Well… 

Alphard manipulated the death crow, flapping its wings twice like a dried-up roasted pigeon.

Rolling up his sleeves and trouser legs, Brand frolicked happily in the shallow sea, showing off his sturdy thighs and arms, and he collected many shells and starfish, asking the death crow, “Are these things useful?”

Alphard shook his head continuously. If these things were useful, the fishermen on the beach would have all become rich!

The scorching summer beach trip lasted for half a month, and Brand sunburned himself everywhere except for the part where his butt was, finally remembering the shopping task Alphard had given him. He hurried back to the city to buy magical materials.

Spending half of the budget unknowingly on meals, Brand couldn’t help but buy many local specialties, such as dried squid, canned fish, and starfish-shaped boards. In the end, he found that only half of the material list had been checked off, but there was hardly any money left for the return journey.

He could only scratch his head guiltily and decided to apologize to Alphard when he got back.

Just as he was about to return home, Brand noticed that the death crow had been quiet all day long. When he arrived near the Mage Tower, he sniffed and felt that he smelled something other than Alphard.

Dropping the large backpack containing the goods and two handbags at the door, Brand looked at the excited skeletal dog that came bounding up to him and grinned, “Did you miss me? I’m back! I bought you pet toys! And some delicious canned fish… too bad you can’t eat.”

The skeletal dog was excitedly running around him, completely unconcerned about its inability to eat, simply happy because Brand had returned home.

“Does Alphard have guests?” Brand reached into his deep pants pocket to fish out a brass key, and just as he inserted it into the keyhole, the door opened from the inside out, “Wow, Alphard, did you come out to greet me specially? You don’t have to be so considerate—”

Alphard stood at the door with his arms crossed. “Zack is here. Since you’re back, come help me pour tea.”

Brand hadn’t even stepped inside before he was summoned, but he had no complaints. Instead, he peeked inside excitedly and greeted, “Good afternoon! Why are you here? Are you here to see your new body? I’ve seen it, and it’s growing very healthily.”

The wandering bard waved with a smile. “I just finished discussing the annual fee for storing my body with Mr. Alphard. Ha ha, you’ve gotten quite dark, I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“The beach was so much fun, and before I knew it, I ended up like this. Hey, I’ll go pour tea now and pack my bags later… Oh, right!” Although Brand’s face was dark, his eyes still sparkled as he looked towards Alphard by the doorway, his eyes crinkling as he asked, “Alphard, if there’s no welcome-home kiss, can I at least get a hug?”

“…There’s someone else here,” Alphard muttered under his breath, his ears turning slightly red. Though he said that, upon seeing Brand’s familiar face after so long, he relented, awkwardly opening his arms for a quick hug before Brand could respond, speaking rapidly, “Alright, hug’s done. You can go pour tea now. Just use regular tea, none of the fancy ones for this guy.”

“Got it!” Brand responded loudly, his tail wagging as he dashed off to the kitchen. Sitting a distance away, Zack could hear everything clearly and suppressed a smirk.

Receiving a cup of bland barley tea that hardly tasted of tea leaves, the wandering poet also received a jar of pickled fish roe sauce found from Brand’s backpack as a gift. He watched Alphard’s increasingly sullen expression and tactfully bid farewell after a short while.

After seeing off the guest, Brand dragged the heavy backpacks into the living room, sitting cross-legged on the floor and began unpacking and counting the items.

“…” Alphard sat on the sofa, legs crossed, silent.

“Alphard?” Brand placed two dried starfish on the coffee table, uncertainly raising his head to look at Alphard. “Why the long face? Aren’t you happy that I’m back?”

By now, he had mastered the skill of detecting Alphard’s mood, almost to the point of calling it instinct. Although Alphard usually had the same sour expression, he did seem worse off now.

“Local specialties.”

“Yeah. These are all local specialties.” Brand gestured vaguely. The coffee table in front of him was piled with useless trinkets, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty: I bought so many. No wonder the funds disappeared all of a sudden. I thought I had miscalculated… 

Alphard felt a pang in his chest, looking at Brand’s ignorant face. It took him a while to stutter out, squinting, “Specialties… why did you give them to him first? He’s just passing through, he doesn’t need them at all.” Then, trying to cover up his tracks, he added, “They were all bought with my funds. I need to know where they’re going.”

Brand widened his eyes, then scrambled up from the floor and lunged towards the sofa.

“Hey…!” Alphard found himself pinned against the back of the sofa by Brand, frowning and letting out a grunt. Unable to push him off, and accustomed to Brand’s antics, Alphard halfheartedly struggled for a moment before giving up, reluctantly reaching around Brand’s waist.

Brand immediately grinned and enthusiastically cupped Alphard’s face, leaning down to plant a forceful kiss, producing a loud smack, like the cork popping off a wine bottle.

“All these specialties were bought for you, Alphard. Don’t be upset over such trivial matters!” Brand, with his sun-darkened face, smiled, revealing a row of healthy, white teeth, looking very vibrant. “I thought of your face with every purchase, wanting to bring them back to share with you, to display at home, that’s why I paid for them…”

And inadvertently overspent… Brand added ruefully in his mind.

Alphard’s unreasonable bad mood was well appeased by Brand’s warmth. He grunted and glanced at the troublesome local specialties.

“Not mad anymore?” Brand kissed his cheek again.

“Mm… reluctantly not.”

“Then will you come with me to the beach next time?”

“Nope.” Alphard quickly rejected Brand.

As expected… Brand thought, not surprised by the response. With their bodies pressed together, the temperature rising, Brand’s breathing grew heavier. He began subtly rubbing his buttocks against Alphard’s thigh, indicating, “Alphard… I’m hungry…”

“You just got home less than half an hour ago. Did you come back just to eat?” Alphard grumbled, though his hand remained on Brand’s waist.

Brand’s tail tip continued to poke Alphard’s hand, teasingly.

“It’s not just about eating; it’s mainly because I missed you,” Brand said nonchalantly, unabashedly.

“Uh… oh…” Alphard choked, emitting a short, breathy sound before falling silent.

Brand rubbed his chest against Alphard’s, almost reaching his face. Not making contact was fine, but once their bodies touched, he couldn’t resist the temptation, longing to sit astride that familiar penis, swaying his hips and indulging to make up for lost time.

Alphard, still stuttering with his retorts, said, “You… you’ve turned as dark as coal, like you’ve been dug out of a mine… It’s just… I don’t feel any desire…”

“Ah.” Brand looked down, his gaze landing on the member that completely contradicted Alphard’s words, slowly rising under the thin cotton shorts against his buttocks.

Alphard’s pale face turned bright red in an instant.

Brand joyfully undid his pants with two quick movements. “I told you, Alphard, you missed me too!”

“Maybe… just a little bit,” Alphard reluctantly squeezed out the truth from between his teeth. It was already quite difficult for him to admit this much.

He hinted by lifting his chin, gazing at the sun-darkened version of Brand firmly pressing him against the sofa, silently signaling him to continue.

Brand paused for a moment, then satisfiedly grinned foolishly, before skillfully lowering his head and initiating a kiss on those thin lips, as he had become addicted to since their first kiss. It had nothing to do with eating; Brand simply enjoyed kissing Alphard. Though he often uttered words that were insincere, Alphard’s lips were soft, just like the heart he hid beneath his tough exterior… 

Brand’s tail wrapped around Alphard’s wrist, constantly pecking at his lips, “Wow, I’m so happy. So fortunate…”

“Fortunate for what?” Alphard looked at Brand.

“Fortunate that I crashed into your wall back then—truly the greatest strategy of my life! Thank goodness for the poor quality bricks that brought us together!” Brand happily rubbed against Alphard, feeling sentimental.

“…” Although the sentiment behind his lover’s words was positive, Alphard couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. The anger lasted for about three or four seconds before dissipating. Well, Brand always spoke without thinking, it wasn’t like it was the first day Alphard had known him…  Alphard sighed lightly, looking at Brand’s silly face, reluctantly curling his lips, and for once, quickly smiled at him.

Brand’s penis hardened painfully, and his butt ignited with an eager desire for release. Excitedly exclaiming “Wow,” he pounced on his lover, pushing him down onto the sofa, wedging himself between the sofa and his muscular body, futilely voicing complaints and protests as usual.

The Writer Has Something to Say: This time, it’s really the end. Cold but sweet, the Honey Cake Shop is closed! (The final side story ended up as a chocolate cake.)