Morning came, and I exchanged simple greetings with the villagers I hadn’t seen in a long time. To them, the roughly one-year gap of my departure to the Academy might have seemed trivial, but from my perspective, having regressed, it felt like nearly a decade had passed, and honestly, I struggled to recall some names.
“People are really kind.”
Sen, who was munching on a sausage, stuck to my side, cheeks puffy from all the food she had received from the villagers. She had her hands full of goodies.
“That’s because I’m friends with Rin. You can’t just assume everyone’s generous just because it’s the countryside, right? Country folk can be pretty territorial.”
Having witnessed outsiders being driven out of the village, I hoped to avoid overly optimistic views.
Isn’t that just how rural areas work? They are endlessly kind to those they know, yet overly dismissive of outsiders.
“Besides, we can’t really gain anything from outsiders anyway.”
Farming wasn’t particularly challenging, and they sometimes encountered wild animals, making self-sufficiency possible. So, having an outsider visit would only result in a few coins for renting a room.
However, if they came and hunted wild animals in large numbers, it would ultimately be a loss for the village.
“Is that so?”
Sen turned her head slightly with a deflated expression, glancing at the villagers. A pang of guilt struck my heart as I felt I was crushing a child’s innocent thoughts.
“That’s how it is.”
Children should grow up, shouldn’t they? Growth always accompanies pain. Time to mature, Sen.
“Hmm.”
Sen let out a sound of discontent. I reminded her not to worry too much and opened the door to our house.
Since our house was small, as soon as I opened the door, there was Kurika’s gigantic form. He awkwardly sat cross-legged on the floor and immediately gave us a regretful expression.
“Sorry for taking up space.”
“Coming out would have been a bigger problem. The villagers would all rush out with bows and crossbows. Anyway, you were already in Rin’s debt, so it’s fine.”
“Here’s some food.”
Sen handed over the food she had received from the villagers. Kurika received everything in his enormous palm, thanking her before popping it into his mouth.
“We’re leaving early this morning, so just bear with it for now.”
I wanted to leave immediately, but I couldn’t find a way to move Kurika without the villagers seeing him.
“Fluffy.”
“Hmm.”
Sen nestled against Kurika’s black fur, nodding in approval. She’d done that several times before heading to the village, showing signs of getting hooked.
Since Kurika was taking up space, he seemed to be holding his mouth shut to offer what he could.
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock came from outside. I gestured for the two of them to stay inside, then cracked the door open slightly.
No matter how much Kurika tried to hide in the corner, his tail was still visible, so there was no avoiding it.
But as soon as I saw the guest outside, I flung the door wide open.
“Adriana?”
“When people mentioned your name, they got a bit nervous. Before that, the staring was a little scary.”
Adriana complained with a shrug. I heard it would take a while because of the Grand Witch, but she arrived much earlier than expected.
Thank goodness! I was planning to head to the territory of the Beastmen today at dawn, so having Adriana show up was a relief.
“I’m glad to see you, but… I don’t think the villagers are wary of you just because you’re an outsider.”
It wasn’t just that her robe was half-burned, and her hair was sticking out in a peculiar way. She looked completely different from her usual neat braids.
Truth be told, her stunning beauty was obscured by her disheveled appearance.
In an awkward response to my reaction, she scratched the back of her head and explained.
“Hehe… I used Warp magic, but ended up on a mountain peak. After rolling down for a while, this is what happened.”
“……”
It seemed like adjustments for Warp magic were going to be necessary. Was it beginner’s luck that sent Hayun and me to this village?
“So, did you resolve things with the priestess and Kurika?”
“Yeah, sort of?”
As we chatted, I naturally guided Adriana inside, now showing her Sen, who was plastered against Kurika’s back.
“Eek!”
Adriana stumbled backward and hit her head on the floor.
*
After lunch, it was still a bit early. I was seeing Hayun off at the village entrance.
“Why isn’t anyone else coming?”
Hayun was heading to the Len family’s mansion in Nirva to sort things out and take responsibility as the last remaining member of the family.
We were leaving for the territory of the Beastmen, so it was only a brief farewell, but no one came to see her off.
“We talked about it last night. They asked to have a moment to talk to you.”
“Hmm?”
While spending the night at Rin’s house had strengthened our bonds, I didn’t remember making a promise like that.
Hayun stared at me, silent, as if looking for something to say. Did she want me to come up with the words while she’d created the moment?
“What?”
Of course, I bluntly asked what she meant, but Hayun sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead.
“If Lady Eris keeps waiting like this, are you just going to ask me the same question you just did?”
“……Was this a test?”
“Yep.”
She could’ve mentioned it beforehand.
But why was she asking me to say what I wanted to convey to Eris?
Hayun clicked her tongue as if my thoughts were easily read.
“You need to be prepared for various situations. Right now, just think of me as Lady Eris and give it a try.”
So, it was practice?
Was this why I told the kids not to come?
I slightly warmed up my voice and looked at Hayun. She was the cold, beautiful Hayun, in stark contrast to warm Eris, yet surprisingly, I found myself connecting with her.
She had learned the truth about her parents. Both her parents and the uncle she despised were gone. Now she had to carry the burden of the Len family name, which she’d abandoned.
For a girl who was barely turning 19, it was an overwhelming weight.
She might manage to cover costs through the family belongings, but the burden of responsibility alone would weigh heavily on her.
“……”
When I really thought about it, I didn’t have a good thing to say.
I realized that expressing even a single word to ease Hayun’s feelings of hopelessness was a tall order.
“Uh, um…”
With her feline-like eyes urging me to speak up, I struggled to open my mouth.
“Hang in there?”
The ultimate fail.
Even if I were a girl, I would have shot back with something better. Instead, my words could easily lead to resentment, resulting in her affection dwindling.
Realizing just how painful it is to lack eloquence really stabbed me in the back.
“Puht.”
Hayun clasped her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle laughter but eventually burst out into uncontrollable giggles, holding her belly as she laughed.
At first, I thought it was a good thing, but soon realized it was more mockery than amusement.
“Haa, I really feel like it’s been ages since I’ve laughed like this.”
As Hayun laughed for a while, a bright smile appeared on her face. Suddenly, memories from the past bubbled up unbidden.
“Do you remember when you practiced confessing to Ares?”
“Huh? Of course.”
She let out a small laugh as if it was unexpected yet familiar.
“We practiced so hard on smiling, but you ended up failing, right?”
“That’s true.”
Hayun nodded slowly. Back then, she was unable to even manage a proper smile, caught between her uncle and the family.
Remembering that time, a proud smile crept onto my face without me realizing.
“You smile well now.”
The contrast between her rigid smile back then and her genuine smile now was so stark that it was hard to believe they were the same person. I’m sure everyone would agree that she’s much prettier now.
“You look lovely.”
“……”
For a moment, Hayun stared at me blankly before suddenly bowing her head and gently punching my chest.
“Pretty strong.”
“Huh?”
I wanted to ask what she meant, but Hayun pulled my right hand with hers. On it was the faded multicolored love bracelet she had made for me.
“It held up well, didn’t break despite all that chaos.”
When I gave her an honest compliment, Hayun raised her head slightly, a somewhat dissatisfied expression on her face.
It was odd that she didn’t seem pleased with praise for something she created, so I was about to ask why.
But Hayun quietly whispered, almost as if reciting poetry.
“If this bracelet doesn’t break for a year, it means you’ll be tied to the one you love.”
“Yeah, you explained that before.”
I was puzzled by her sudden words, but then Hayun took a pair of small sewing scissors from her little sewing pouch at her waist.
Snip.
She cut the bracelet right off.
The love bracelet fluttered down to the ground, leaving my wrist feeling bare and lonely.
I was so taken aback by Hayun’s sudden action that I couldn’t find my words, but she looked at me as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“If that love will fail.”
“What?”
I was bewildered by her words, but Hayun gently stroked my wrist where the bracelet had vanished and teasingly declared.
“The next time you like me, I’ll make it for you again.”
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