I couldn’t open my mouth for a while while staring at Hephaestus’s flushed face.
Noah seemed to be just like me, only moving their lips and fiddling with the hilt of the sword unnecessarily.
“Um… you, guys?”
After a long pause, Hephaestus finally opened her mouth as if she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ah… yes.”
“I’m really sorry for causing this. Even though I’m like this, my Master is… different from me. So… please don’t hate her.”
Hephaestus’s face, which had been filled with embarrassment just a moment ago, was overtaken by gloom.
But what does it mean that her Master is different?
Is it a crush?
“Hephaestus. The reason I couldn’t say anything earlier was… um… well… your face was… how should I put it… just so pink.”
How stupid of me to pick “pink” just to comfort her…
“I, pink…? Really? You felt it too, Rubia? I’m not the only one… Wow… it’s so pink…”
But seeing Noah acting the same way… maybe it’s not so bad after all.
“Pink? Wh-what do you mean…?”
“Hephaestus’s vibe was pink. It felt like pink was filling this carriage! Puhuhuh…”
Hephaestus’s face turned bright red in an instant.
“Th-that’s not true… Hehe…”
“Anyway, no matter what kind of person Hephaestus is, we don’t dislike you. In fact, it’s common in the Sunrise Empire, right?”
Well… there might be some stereotypes, but it’s not entirely unheard of.
After all, even the third princess of the empire is dating multiple women right now.
“Uh, thank you…”
“So… Hephaestus, is that all there is to your Master’s features?”
Honestly… I’m not sure how far we’ve come in this conversation, or how we even started talking about this…
Fortunately, I have a note, so I’m saved.
If I hadn’t written it down, I might have had to start over from the beginning.
“Um, yes. I think I’ve mentioned all the physical features.”
“Alright. Then, when did you receive this letter? Oh…? A letter?”
I unfolded the letter I was holding.
The first thing that caught my eye was that they had arrived at the summit of Karahan.
I read it without much thought earlier…
But from the summit of the Karahan Mountain Range… how on earth did they send this letter…?
This could mean…
Either they didn’t actually head to Karahan at all, or they were already killed… and this was sent to lure Hephaestus.
Either scenario seems plausible…
Cautiously, I lifted my head to look at Hephaestus.
She was still looking at me with an innocent expression.
She doesn’t seem to have caught on yet.
But still… I should probably tell her…
“Um, Hephaestus. First, let’s take a deep breath and listen.”
“Yes?”
“…The letter says you’ve arrived at the summit of Karahan, but…”
How should I phrase this?
How do I say it without shocking her too much?
“Honestly… logically… you can’t send a letter from the summit of Karahan, right?”
“Ah…”
“So, this means… um… your Master has probably gone somewhere else, or… um, haah… has already…”
As I struggled to pick my words, I finally decided to be straightforward, but then she interrupted.
“My hawk delivered it.”
Hephaestus’s absurd words cut me off.
“Hawk…?”
“Yup…? Hawk…?”
“Uh… yes. I completely forgot to mention. My Master is oddly close to animals. Sometimes she talks to them and stuff. Anyway, that letter was brought by my Master’s hawk…”
I held my head, feeling a dizziness wash over me.
“She’s… close to animals…?”
“Yes! So there were various animals around our blacksmith shop. No one came after she left, though…”
Still…
Even if she’s close to animals, how could she have a hawk deliver a letter…?
“Wooow… so could she send a rabbit or a cat too…?”
“Yup, but the cat kept bullying the rabbit, so my Master had to scold it.”
“Yikes… Do cats eat rabbits?”
“Uh, not really. There are just a lot of mean cats around.”
“Oh, I see… Did you ever… kill those mean ones…?”
“Come on, sis… why would I do that? I just drove them away.”
“Right…? Hmm… Oh! Did you… see a unicorn?”
In the midst of this, Noah started asking questions with a look of pure wonder.
It was a bit surprising when the flow of our conversation suddenly changed… but I decided to wait until Noah’s barrage of questions ended.
Every time I heard Hephaestus’s answers, her expressions shifted adorably… I didn’t want to interrupt that.
Watching them chatting happily felt strangely healing.
Even though Hephaestus looked sharp, seeing her laughing and chatting with Noah was amusing.
When their chatter began to die down, I cautiously spoke up.
“Are we done?”
“Ah, heh… Sorry… Um, thank you for waiting, Rubia.”
Noah bowed her head with a face full of apologies.
Is she flinching because I told her not to keep apologizing before…?
Now I just want to tell her it’s okay and not to worry.
But seeing her like that is too cute…
I know it’s a bad thing to feel this way…
But still, Noah has a knack for evoking a masochistic side…
“Rubia…?”
“Ah, yes. It’s okay. I had fun too.”
Upon hearing my reply, Noah’s face turned pale.
“Re-really…? Um… Rubia found the unicorn… giving birth amusing…? Heh… something like that could be… understood, right…?”
Noah ended up cutting herself off and turning her gaze out the window.
What did she just say…?
“Yes? Noah… what did you just-”
“Ah! Did you have fun, Rubia? Then let me explain! Unicorns first gather in pairs and-”
“Wait, wait, stop there.”
I pushed away Hephaestus, who was leaning in with her face forward.
“Um, could you tell me what you two were talking about? It was just… a cute animal story, wasn’t it?”
“Ah… baby unicorns are also very cute. Because-”
As soon as Hephaestus started speaking, Noah curled her body and covered her ears.
And the contents that followed…
This… is insane.
What on earth is she saying…?
“Oh my…”
“Isn’t it amazing? So after that…”
How did we get into such a ridiculous topic from earlier…?
“Hephaestus. Enough… just stop. I get it… um, c-can we go back to talking about your Master?”
“Yes! Then, I’ll tell you about the unicorns at dinner!”
“Please don’t… just stop.”
With Hephaestus staring at me wide-eyed, I shifted the topic.
“Ahem, so… is your Master’s handwriting matching?”
“Ah, yes. It’s definitely Yuria’s handwriting.”
Hephaestus nodded with confidence.
If Hephaestus loves her Master that much… it must be true.
Ugh.
That unicorn obsession is really messing with my focus.
“Yeah… I was worried something bad happened.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve explained that first… I just assumed it was obvious and totally forgot.”
“It’s okay. So it’s definitely true that she went to the summit of Karahan, right?”
“Yes. It’s certain. She went on an important request.”
“Request?”
“My Master is an Adventurer.”
Hephaestus scratched her cheek and looked away.
“Your Master is an Adventurer…? Not a Blacksmith?”
“Yes… heh.”
Is she a Blacksmith or an Adventurer…?
“But why do you call her Master…?”
“Ah, um… just because she taught me everything about living.”
“I see… Then who taught you the current work?”
Hephaestus, who had been mumbling, finally managed to answer.
“The shop next door.”
“The shop next door, the one you recommended?”
“Yes… The Chrome Blacksmith… I’m sorry. I’m not so good at speaking… I’m always late to mention important things and only ramble on about useless unicorn mating stories… I’m sorry… My Master would always scold me for this…”
With each word Hephaestus spoke, her body seemed to shrink.
And she was on the verge of tears again.
Isn’t this somewhat of a problem?
If she thinks the person she loved might be in danger of dying…
I can totally understand why she’d react like this.
I need to comfort her before she bursts into tears.
“It’s okay. Don’t… don’t get so down on yourself. That’s your unique charm.”
“I’m so sorry…”
As soon as Hephaestus bowed her head, Noah gasped and whispered in her ear.
“Oh no… He-Hephaestus… Rubia hates hearing ‘sorry’!”
“God… th-then…”
It’s a problem that I can hear everything, but looking at Hephaestus and Noah being cautious around me— a heavy sigh escaped my lips.
“Ha… Well… no. Forget it. Yes. I feel like the conversation keeps going off track. Let’s focus and wrap this up.”
“Yes!”
“Yup…!”
Holding my throbbing temples, I continued with the topic.
“Then… what’s your Master’s rank as an Adventurer?”
“Platinum!”
“Uh…?”
“Pl-platinum…? Her name is… Yuria… green hair, Druid…?”
While I was surprised by the fact that her rank was platinum…
Noah looked shocked about something else.
Her reaction reminded me of when she thought of Luchy back in Hablon, and she started mumbling about everything she had heard so far.
Did she also hear that from this Master?
Ugh… why is everyone obsessed with her Master?
Hephaestus claims to love her.
And even though Noah talks about her Master a bit differently from Hephaestus… it still feels like they both love her.
It’s infuriating… seriously.
I want to make them stop thinking about this Master immediately, but I have to hold back.
The more information that can help Hephaestus, the better…
But.
Hold back? What for…?
Why am I annoyed that Noah seems to like her Master?
This happened last time too.
And it happens again.
Every time Hephaestus hugs Noah and rubs her cheek against hers… I feel this strange sensation.
What’s going on…?
Wail— Hiiiiiing—!
As my head began to get tangled up in thoughts…
The carriage slowly came to a halt, and the sound of a horse neighing reached my ears.
“Oh! Looks like we’ve arrived!”
With a face full of excitement, Hephaestus yanked the curtain aside.
I also turned my head towards the window, and there it was—the grandeur of the Karahan Mountain Range behind the city of Ursphere.
Then, slowly turning my head back…
I looked at Noah, who was just sitting still in her seat.
While Hephaestus and I turned to gaze at the city, Noah remained seated, clutching her Great Sword tightly.
I felt a pang of pity.
I wanted to take care of her.
To explain the colors, the atmosphere of the village, one by one.
But at the same time…
Looking at her smiley lips and eyebrows that were perked up, excited like that felt too cute…
A soft smile escaped me.
Hmm…
She felt like a little sibling… my only friend, which brought forth those strange feelings.
A little sibling I have to take care of.
And… my one and only friend in the world.
If I found out that the person my little sibling brought home as her boyfriend hurt her and made her cry…
I’ll make sure to kill him with all my might.
“Rubia! I’m going down first and heading to the checkpoint!”
“Yes. Then… let’s continue the story while we eat.”
“Unicorn-”
“Stop it… just stop that.”
“Um… okay!”
And again…
It’s pretty frustrating to think that my friend, who only played and hugged with me, suddenly has fun with someone else.
I’ve covered her with my scent.
It’s irritating to think that someone else’s scent is now mixed in.
“Noah, want to hold hands?”
“Ah… yeah…!”
Her soft fingers intertwined with mine.
Savoring the sensation of our fingers interlocked, I pondered.
What is this…
Not quite pink, but…
“Be careful not to fall. Let’s go down slowly.”
“Eh… I can easily manage this much…”
“Even so, you never know.”
Shifting the hand I was holding to the other side, I wrapped my remaining arm around Noah’s waist.
“Heh… th-that tickles!”
“Puhuhuh… just bear with it for a bit. Ah, right. I heard there’s a jelly made from the special product in Ursphere. Raspberry flavor jelly.”
“Re-really?”
“Yeah. Shall we try it?”
“Yes! Definitely…!”
Yes.
My feelings are not pink…
They’re deeper than that.
Red.
Fresh red.
