Rubia, who had been sitting quietly without saying a word, must have had a lot of questions for me.
“Let’s go.”
“…Huh?”
“We’re going outside.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes.”
She left while I was washing up, and when she came back, the atmosphere had changed dramatically.
“But there’s nothing to do outside right now, is there?”
“It’s fine. I noticed quite a few places are open. Even if they’re all closed, if I say my name, they’ll probably open for me. And since Noah is a hero who saved Ursphere, if he can’t do even that, then… he’s just a bad person.”
Hero.
That was a word that didn’t suit me at all, and I let out a snicker.
“Well… um… should we go?”
“Yes.”
Finally satisfied, Rubia smiled and swung the door open wide.
I jumped up from my seat, wrapped myself completely in the princess’s robe draped over the sofa, and stepped outside.
The Great Sword was leaning against the sofa.
The scenery of Ursphere that I stepped out to was romantic if I put it nicely, and chaotic if I didn’t.
The buildings were crumbling, the flat road was jagged and ripped apart… There were corners of shops still smoking from smoldering embers and food or items frozen stiff.
Among all this, the biggest mess was made by… Yuria’s plants.
She had turned it into a total jungle.
Starting with thousands of stems barely holding up the collapsed buildings, roots erupted from the ground, and flowers and weeds were everywhere.
The chaotic ground was sparsely covered with nameless herbs, and now even butterflies were flitting around.
It looked like a scene from an ancient ruin that had been neglected for ages.
But well, it couldn’t be helped.
Tylant’s followers must have poured in massively.
Rather than dying, isn’t it better that the buildings collapsed?
That’s why people are clearing away the debris or repairing the fallen buildings with smiles on their faces.
“What should we eat?”
In the awkward silence while thinking about all this, Rubia spoke first.
I looked around.
Only a handful of restaurants were open.
Even those places seemed busy serving food to those taking charge of cleaning up the village.
“Um… anywhere quiet is fine.”
Of course, I had food in mind, but… I didn’t want to bother entering a shop.
Who knew if they were even operating or not?
“Then, can I go to the place I want to eat?”
“Sure. Sounds good.”
Nodding, I followed behind Rubia.
And again, another awkward silence settled in.
Instead of wasting that time, I quietly contemplated the magical power within me.
I expelled any unnecessary dirty magical power, stacking only the needed kind.
When I was gone, I had to leave enough to use without any issues.
The more magical power, the better, but if it goes overboard, my body would go bang!
Especially in a situation like now, it was even more dangerous.
The party probably didn’t know, but if they dumped an Elixir like that into a body with no magical power like mine, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
What would they have done if I wasn’t around? Oh dear.
Still… it seemed like this life of ‘me’ wasn’t too bad, and I felt a little proud.
But it also made my heart ache a bit.
A lot, actually.
Tsk.
What kind of petty thoughts are these?
I shook my head and finished the task at hand.
I accepted the purity of the complete Elixir’s magical power.
I expelled the incomplete magical power from the Elixir Yuria made.
As for the absorbed magical powers… there’s nothing I could do about that.
Losing a bit of height at this stage wouldn’t impact me much, so that’s not a problem.
As for intelligence… well, it couldn’t drop any lower than it already was.
I didn’t know how well Rubia’s arrangements were working, but… she probably hadn’t completely accepted this world yet, so there was plenty of room for improvement.
Though… breaking that barrier would probably be just a matter of time.
I could see the end of the magical power refining process starting to come into view.
Since I began after capturing Tylant…
Starting from broad daylight, since I was finishing up around sunset…
It had taken quite a while.
Considering how messy it had been, it was kind of inevitable.
Now there was only one thing left to tidy up.
That is… I should do it before my consciousness goes out.
“We’ve arrived.”
I looked up at the sign.
“Huh?”
The Day of the Snows.
The fried rice sold here was super delicious.
And the handmade jelly they offered as dessert was to die for.
“Why? Is it not good?”
One of the places I wanted to eat the most.
The restaurant that sold special raspberry juice.
And the very place where I first ate with Rubia.
“Uh, no… I really, really like it.”
Ursphere in the world I lived in was destroyed by Tylant.
That snow avalanche I had caused.
It had started countless followers in a killing spree, destroying buildings.
In the end, it all came crashing down completely due to Tylant’s direct attack.
I thought I would never be able to eat here again.
“I’m glad to hear that. Shall we go in?”
“Uh, yeah. Let’s go.”
I stepped ahead to open the door.
Jing-
The shabby yet tidy interior.
A quiet atmosphere.
A delicious smell wafting from the kitchen, sweet and salty.
And the menu boards of the shop that I couldn’t notice in my blind days caught my eye.
In my memories, the mornings in the snowy mountains had been incredibly dirty and noisy.
It was filled with the smell of alcohol and the sweat of adventurers, and the atmosphere was fierce.
I had really enjoyed that chaos.
While others might think it was a mess,
Those commotions were precious to me.
Now that such an atmosphere was absent, it felt a little disappointing.
But it was fine.
As long as I could see, feel, and remember it… it didn’t matter.
“Where should we sit?”
Seats.
The seat also mattered.
There was always a spot where I usually sat.
“That corner on the right!”
I always preferred the corners so I wouldn’t catch people’s eyes.
Sitting in the corner quietly while wearing the robe like this felt nice.
“That sounds good.”
Pat pat- I dashed over and plopped down into the seat.
The chair was incredibly hard, and my butt was already aching.
And why was it so high that my feet couldn’t even touch the ground?
But I loved it all too much.
It felt nice to be back.
Feeling elated, my legs began to shake more vigorously in the air.
Clatter- Rubia, who sat down while dragging her chair, quietly looked up at the menu.
I didn’t even need to look.
I had already made up my mind.
And… I wanted to recommend a dish that Rubia would like too.
But somehow, I felt hesitant so I kept quiet.
With the world changing, Rubia must have changed too.
She wouldn’t be the Rubia I knew.
“Did Noah choose everything?”
“Yeah. What about Rubia?”
“I’ve chosen everything too, so I’ll go order. What would you like to eat?”
“I want French toast, chicken breast fried rice… and the special raspberry juice!”
Rubia’s head tilted as she heard my order.
“But this place doesn’t have raspberry juice.”
“Really…?”
I immediately lifted my head to scan the menu.
Raspberry juice… raspberry juice…
It wasn’t there.
And the jelly was gone too.
Uh… wait a second.
But it was there. I definitely had it…
Is this some kind of butterfly effect?
“Hmm… it can’t be helped. Then, I’ll skip the raspberry juice and just have the toast and fried rice…”
It was a bit depressing, but eating toast and fried rice was still better than nothing.
“Oh, and I’ll have milk to drink!”
“Milk… heh heh… got it. I’ll be back with the order.”
While Rubia went off to place the order, I once more scanned the menu.
In a bit more detail.
But I still couldn’t find any raspberry juice.
Same with the jelly…
I wanted to feel that happiness of biting into sweet, tangy raspberry pulp…
So disappointing.
So, so disappointing…
sigh…
“Are you that bummed out? I saw other places selling it. Let’s eat and then go for dessert.”
Before I knew it, Rubia, who had just finished ordering, comforted me.
“Uh, okay.”
Still, my mood didn’t really improve.
Sure, other places’ raspberry juices are good but… not like here…
But if it’s not available, what can I do?
I pushed my regret aside and thought about the meal that would arrive soon, raising my spirits.
“What did Rubia choose?”
The Rubia I knew would pick basil cream pasta-
“I chose basil cream pasta.”
With beef and baguette added…
“With beef and baguette added.”
“Oh…”
That was identical.
“Why?”
“Uh, no. Rubia, have you been here before?”
“Yes, I have. I stopped by once during my missionary activities. I was recommended to try it, and the taste was okay. The atmosphere… not so much.”
What I had heard.
“And one interesting thing is… the food Noah chose was what I first tasted.”
Rubia, you recommended it to me.
“Yeah, that’s interesting.”
After hearing my reply, Rubia stared at my face intently.
“It’ll be delicious.”
“…Yeah.”
“I wonder if my dish will suit Noah’s taste… but give it a try.”
It’s delicious.
Putting meat on the baguette and dipping it in sauce?
I’ve eaten it plenty of times.
“Got it.”
Feeling a bit pressured by her unwavering gaze, I turned my head away.
And then…
Clank-
A bearded man placed an oddly cute cup on our table.
Raspberry juice.
“Uh…?”
“This is our restaurant’s special raspberry juice. It’s not on the menu, but it should taste good.”
“W-Why are you giving it to me out of the blue?”
The beard moved.
He was smiling.
“My daughter loves it.”
“…Oh, I see.”
The first time, a drink came out this way too.
I thought Rubia had ordered it, and I had nonchalantly drunk it following her suggestion.
As a blind person, I couldn’t see the menu.
So after that, it became customary to order without fail, and every time Rubia would order on my behalf.
And the raspberry juice came with the food.
As if it was the most natural thing.
With black hair and red eyes.
And… because of bad rumors.
I was rejected as a demon, a monster.
This man had taken care of me.
He slowly raised his cup and tilted it to his mouth.
That taste from my memories was just the same.
“It’s good.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“…Thank you, thank you very much.”
“No, thank you. I truly appreciate you for protecting this restaurant… Ursphere.”
The man bowed deeply.
“…Yes.”
I didn’t look.
Because I felt like the emotions I had suppressed would spill out.
I feared I’d hold onto things—a lingering attachment.
I feared I’d grow greedy.
I turned my head and took a sip of the juice.
It was so…
Sweet.
