Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 74: The Weight of Responsibility

Sebas responded with a deep bow of acknowledgment. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Damien, however, was still utterly lost.

"Damien, let’s do this! It’ll be good for you too!" Theo suddenly exclaimed, his enthusiasm catching Damien off guard.

Damien had already decided to help when he heard it would be a valuable experience for the servants, but now Theo’s sudden excitement made him nervous. He was reminded of those moments when a salesperson would come to his mother’s door, saying, "This will definitely be good for you!" and try to sell something unclear.

"Um, this will benefit you too, right, Theo?" Damien asked cautiously.

"Yes, absolutely," Theo confirmed without hesitation.

There was no trace of uncertainty in his tone.

"Alright, then. I’ll do it. If it helps you and the kids, I’ll give it my best shot," Damien declared.

For so long, he had felt guilty about being sheltered simply because he was an outsider in this world. He hadn’t yet found a way to contribute, but now that there was a chance to repay some of the kindness he had received from Theo, he felt motivated to try.

"Once you take on this role, Sir Damien, you will become their master until they can stand on their own," Sebas said, concluding the matter.

"Once you take on this responsibility, there’s no turning back. Are you sure about this?",

Hearing this again made the weight of the situation sink in for Damien. Of course, he wouldn’t be paying their salaries; Theo would remain their actual employer. But still, from now on, Damien would be involved in their lives. Even if it was only temporary, he couldn’t afford to act in a way that would embarrass himself as their master.

"Yes, I’ll do my best to help them until they can stand on their own," Damien replied, determined.

He wanted them to grow into capable adults, even if it meant using him as a stepping stone.

"That’s settled then. From this moment, your official master is now Sir Damien," Sebas declared.

"Yes, sir!" the four young attendants responded in unison, their faces tense but full of energy.

Seeing their faces, Damien renewed his resolve. He would do his best to support them, even as a practice master.

"Your wages will now be paid from the public treasury, which means they will come from Sir Damien himself," Sebas continued.

Wait, what? Damien didn’t know about that.

"From now on, you will report directly to Sir Damien. I can offer advice, but I will not be giving orders. Sir Damien’s decisions are final, and you must respect them as such."

What? That sounds terrifying.

"Now, Whitlock, Riese, Marston, Steinholt, here is my first piece of advice. I suggest you formally greet your new master."

"Yes, thank you for the advice, Lord Rostov," the four attendants responded, bowing deeply to Sebas.

"...Theo, Lord Rostov...?" Damien whispered.

"Yes, Sebas is a Viscount. Sebas Vadim Rostov, that’s Sebas’s full title," Theo explained casually.

Sebas was a viscount? Damien was amazed. It felt like he was surrounded by nobles on all sides. It was like being part of a world he couldn’t quite grasp... and he really wanted it to just be a story.

After thanking Sebas, the four attendants lined up before Damien, standing straight, no longer in front of Theo, but directly in front of him.

"Sir Damien, though we are inexperienced, we pledge to serve you with all our hearts," they said in unison, bowing deeply once again. And they didn’t lift their heads.

"Uh, Theo... I’m supposed to say something, right? Can I still back out of this?" Damien whispered, hoping for an escape.

"That’s not an option," Theo replied firmly.

"...Yeah, I figured," Damien sighed. He knew, but he had to ask anyway.

"Um... don’t push yourselves too hard, okay?" Damien finally managed to say. He wanted to say something cool or meaningful, but his mind was blank, unable to keep up with everything that was happening.

He couldn’t help but feel apologetic. "Sorry for being such a lame master... You can quit if you want."

Of course, none of them could hear Damien’s internal thoughts.

"Thank you very much!" they all responded enthusiastically, oblivious to his silent doubts.

Well, there was no turning back now. Was there still a way out of this situation? Probably not.

Resigning himself to the role, Damien resolved to try his best to be a good master, especially since it was for Theo’s sake too.

...Even though he seriously doubted whether he could manage to do it.

...

"Anyway, after all that sidetracking, it’s time for a bath."

Damien decided he’d ask Theo and Sebas for more details about the four attendants once he was done bathing. He needed to know more about them and what kind of master he should be.

"Well, let’s get this bath over with quickly so we can sit down and talk."

In truth, he was still feeling the exhaustion from earlier and would have preferred to relax in the bath, but it seemed there was no time for that. Better to finish up quickly.

"Please wait," Sebas stopped him just as he was about to take off his clothes.

Huh? Was Sebas asking him to wait while he stepped out? Damien hoped that was the case. He wouldn’t mind some privacy, but he had already experienced being in a bath with others during school trips, so it wasn’t a big deal.

To say it wasn’t embarrassing would be a lie, but Theo had mentioned that servants didn’t normally concern themselves with such things, so Damien thought he could tolerate it for the sake of getting used to the situation.

"Since it’s a special occasion, as I mentioned earlier, we would like to assist you with your bath, Sir Damien."

Ah, right. They had talked about that earlier. The shock of the whole situation with the young attendants had made him completely forget that it all started with the subject of bathing assistance.

Assisting with the bath... did that mean they’d wash his back or something?