“How was the meal?”
“Um, it was really delicious.”
After finishing their meal, the two of them entered a nearby café. It was one of the places where many residents went to refresh themselves after dining.
Settling into a corner, they continued to chat casually.
They talked about the taste of the steak, whether it was more inefficient to cut the cow’s flesh and call a priest to recover it, and if the recovered flesh was really the ‘premium cut’—and so the banter continued.
“There sure are all sorts of people in the world making a living in bizarre ways…”
“There are plenty of weirdos out there.”
“You’re quite the weirdo yourself, Uncle.”
“I can’t deny that.”
Johann shrugged his shoulders and casually downed the steaming coffee, thanks to the Phoenix’s Blessing that made lukewarm liquids feel like nothing.
Watching him, Viola looked at him with envy and said, “I wish I had a blessing like that. It would have made my research so much easier.”
“Well, having a blessing doesn’t guarantee it will help with research.”
“But still, seeing what you can do, it seems like it would be helpful.”
Viola had seen him casually stick his hand into the fire in the workshop more than once. Given that, it was hard to argue that a blessing wouldn’t help with his work.
For a normal human, that would be a great disaster, burning their hand on hot coals.
“It would be easier to live without it.”
“I know. You’ve gone through a lot to earn it.”
“Looking back, I really did some crazy things.”
Johann stroked his chin thoughtfully, and Viola nodded along.
“You’re probably the only one who has hung a demon’s head up in your room.”
“If you want, I could give you one as a gift.”
At Johann’s joke, Viola waved her hands in dismay. Imagining a demon’s head hanging in her room sent chills down her spine.
“Ugh, I don’t want that. If I slept with a demon’s head hanging on the wall, I’d be too freaked out to sleep.”
“I don’t find it too distracting, actually.”
“Still, I don’t want it.”
“Then let’s drop that topic… Viola, is there anywhere you want to go?”
Johann ran his finger along the edge of his empty teacup while looking into Viola’s eyes. Her soft brown eyes met his.
For a while, they silently gazed at each other.
How much time had passed? Viola, snapping back to reality, urgently spoke up.
“Ah, let’s go where you want to go, Uncle!”
“Where you want to go is where I want to go, so you choose.”
“No, Uncle, you—”
“You don’t have to adjust everything to me.”
“…Even if you say that, I don’t know much about this city… come to think of it, I’ve been locked away in the research facility and barely came out…”
Viola gazed into the tranquil liquid in her teacup, reflecting the scarlet color vividly against her face.
“It’s not my place to say, but sometimes wandering can help with research.”
“Wandering?”
Viola frowned as if not understanding.
“The human brain doesn’t function better just by being made to work endlessly.”
“I don’t quite get it.”
“Don’t you only think about research every day? If you take a break today, you’ll figure it out.”
“…A whole day? Thinking about it, I did play a bit when I was young. But since I set a goal, I feel like I’ve just been running nonstop.”
Viola recalled her past.
From her clueless childhood to her time at the Academy. Devoting herself to studying while others played.
“That’s how it is once you get a goal.”
“Thinking back, since my family situation wasn’t great, I guess I hung on tighter.”
“Looks like I brought up bad memories.”
“No, it’s just old stuff now… but where are we going?”
“Did you know there’s a circus opening east of Kalon?”
“I think I heard that from a friend.”
“As it happens, I have tickets, so let’s go see it.”
Johann pulled out two tickets from his pocket and waved them back and forth.
“…You planned this ahead, didn’t you?”
“No, I just bought two tickets for every show happening today in Kalon, so we could enjoy wherever we went.”
“…Wow, that’s a serious cash splurge…”
“With that expression, it feels a bit off coming from you.”
“…Sorry.”
“No, honestly, it suits you better.”
Johann chuckled and stood up.
“Then let’s head out.”
——————
“Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for waiting!”
A clown in ridiculous makeup bowed exaggeratedly, causing laughter to erupt from the audience. The clown beamed as if it were the greatest compliment and looked around the crowd before excitingly shouting, “Welcome to the Arkana troupe’s performance! From now on, you will witness a one-of-a-kind, rare show! Now~ let’s begin~!”
Viola turned her gaze from the stage and secretly peeked at Johann. He seemed to be watching the circus performance with great interest.
‘Our hands are touching…’
Since the armrests were attached, their arms inevitably brushed against each other. Viola looked at the back of Johann’s hand, barely visible in the darkness.
‘His hands felt so rugged earlier…’
Viola recalled the time they held hands while exploring shops. Thinking back, it had definitely made her heart race. It was a novel feeling for her, so she felt curious.
Slowly, she reached out and placed her hand on Johann’s hand.
“If you want to hold hands, just say so.”
“Um, can I hold your hand then?”
“Of course.”
Johann took Viola’s hand and gently stroked it with his thumb. Though she trembled from the awkwardness, she didn’t pull away.
The warm feelings in her chest urged her not to.
“The first show is—”
‘I can’t focus on the show…’
Though the clown was shouting and acting hilariously on stage, the pounding in Viola’s heart made her unable to concentrate on the circus.
“Are you not enjoying it?”
“No, no, it’s just…”
“Just?”
“Nothing at all!”
Johann chuckled at Viola’s embarrassed, frantic head shaking.
‘That’s cute.’
It was a rare sight he didn’t get to see often. He completely focused on observing Viola’s bashfulness. As his gaze fixed on her, she desperately avoided his gaze.
Eventually, Viola couldn’t hold back and spoke up.
“Don’t keep looking at me like that…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, I mean, I’m just em-embarrassed. We came to see a circus, right?”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing, staring at me?”
“When did I ever?”
Viola’s voice trembled like a drum being struck.
“Viola, don’t be too embarrassed. No one will judge you for being honest.”
“But still…”
“We’re on a date right now.”
“Y-yeah, but…”
“That means you can act more comfortably than usual.”
At Johann’s words, Viola’s gaze lifted to meet his eyes. The warmth in his gaze was softer than usual.
“I don’t know… Is it that I’m nervous because it’s a date, or am I nervous because I’m looking at you—it’s all confusing.”
“One could be true, both could be true. But does it really matter?”
“What?”
“Enjoying this moment is what a date is about. We can do whatever we want. Like, we could dash out of this circus and stroll the Central Park… or enjoy the circus like this, holding hands.”
Anything could become a memory.
Viola sank into thought in silence for a while. Johann held her hand, waiting for her response. She spoke up when the climax of the performance approached.
“Uncle, let’s go outside.”
“Sure.”
The two of them stood up.
————–
“Is a simple walk alright?”
“Um, I don’t think the circus really suits me. It’s noisy, chaotic…”
“But you hardly watched it at all.”
“That’s kind of the point.”
Hand in hand, they strolled through the park. While the things to see were just lush greenery and people walking around, Viola actually found joy in that scenery.
“After we walk around the park… is there anywhere else you want to go?”
“Um, well, I’ve already been to the alchemy shop… and I can’t think of a place I want to visit. Honestly, I don’t even know much about what this city has.”
“There’s a theater in the north where we can see a play, and there’s a square in the west where musicians perform street shows. This city has more entertainment options than you might think.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I respect your choice.”
“Let’s just walk a bit more.”
“Alright.”
They continued to chat, blending into the atmosphere of the park. The now brownish park gradually covered them in the autumn mood.
As the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot became less frequent, Viola stopped and gazed at a simple, old bench.
Johann couldn’t help but speak up seeing her like that.
“Want to sit on the bench?”
“Um… no, I just realized I can’t remember the last time I sat on a bench.”
“Then you should sit now.”
“That’s true.”
Viola giggled and pulled Johann’s hand toward the bench. They sat side by side on the empty bench and took in the autumn scenery.
“It’s already the second semester of our second year… time really flies.”
“It’s been over a year since we met, huh?”
“Yeah… Uncle, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“What do you think of me?”
A sudden question popped into Viola’s mind.
A question she had buried deep in her heart for a long time flowed out through her lips.
Johann looked up at the sky for a moment before organizing his thoughts and opening his mouth.
“To say it’s love feels like it’s lacking. I like you, but I see you as a child I need to take care of.”
“That’s a pretty cold answer.”
“Even if I say I love you here, it would only lead to wounds for both of us.”
“Still, I like that part of you, Uncle. Responsible, competent, hard-working… you give your all to everything…”
Compliments about him poured out of Viola one by one. There were quite a few by the time she was done. Johann scratched his head, overwhelmed.
“I’m only doing what’s natural.”
“Is slaying a demon a natural thing to do?”
“Thinking about it, I suppose it isn’t.”
“Anyway… while on this date, I thought about it.”
“Yeah.”
“I think I like you, Uncle.”
“I see.”
“Isn’t that too calm of a reaction?”
“I could tell by your actions that you liked me. After all, I’m a guy who has four girlfriends.”
“Whoa, that sounds like a pretty trashy statement.”
“Still, you’re the one who just admitted to caring for someone like me.”
“That’s true.”
Viola chuckled and snuggled closer to him, just like Elisa once did, wrapping her arms around his arm, looking up at him.
“It’s a shame I can’t monopolize you… but I think this isn’t bad at all, Uncle.”
“Calling me Uncle, huh? I feel like I should get a different nickname soon.”
“You’re still Uncle. I’ll keep calling you that.”
Viola gently leaned her head on his arm. Johann smiled at the sensation of her hair against his arm.
“Do whatever makes you happy.”
“Thanks for that.”
Uncle.
A lovely smile bloomed on Viola’s face like a flower.
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