Chapter 12
Chapter 12
A week passed since that shocking, not-at-all restful day off known as Forest Day, and at last, Forest Day came again. Steel, Earth, Sun, Moon, Flame, Spring, why did those six days feel so unusually long? Perhaps ordinary, uneventful days feel longer precisely because they are so peaceful.
Today is the pharmacy’s regular day off, so Hector is supposed to visit. I wore the ring with the black gemstone on my right thumb and waited for him to arrive.
The noble who called himself Ky and gave me the contract ring should be the same person Hector referred to as his best friend. He might know something about the ring as well.
(I can’t exactly talk about this with Jean-san, after all)
It’s too big a matter to swallow on my own, yet I can’t tell anyone else, so I hope I can at least talk about it a little. …I never thought there would come a day when I would want to talk to Hector this much.
When I hear a light knock at the back door, I quickly head over, remove the latch, and let my guest inside. Wearing his usual cloak and his usual smile, he steps into the shop, and the moment he notices the ring with the black gemstone on my thumb, he freezes, still smiling.
(Wow… he’s really shaken. So he didn’t hear anything about this)
Surprise, sadness, anxiety, anger, prediction lines stretch and contract violently, moving in erratic ways. It reflects the complexity of his emotions. The colorful lines bounce around like frogs, and I almost find myself staring, but realizing it would look strange, I quietly avert my gaze.
「That ring… where did you get it?」
「I’ll explain later. I’ve prepared the tea leaves you purchased last time, so please have a cup and calm down. I’ll clean the bottles in the meantime.」
I seat the confused Hector, place a cup of tea in front of him, and begin washing and refilling the bottles. While working, I glance at him from time to time, but the movements of his prediction lines show no sign of settling down.
This ring must be something truly shocking. Did I receive something incredibly serious? I won’t know unless Hector tells me.
「Thank you for waiting. That will be 5,000 bel.」
「Yeah, thanks.」
After receiving the payment offered with his usual radiant smile, I sat across from him. He’s good at hiding his emotions, so he looks calm on the surface, wearing his usual cheerful expression. But the wildly fluctuating prediction lines show that he hasn’t calmed down at all since seeing the ring.
I should probably start by explaining what happened the other day. It involves a noble, and I understand it’s not something that can be made public, but since it was a proposal from his best friend, it should be fine to tell Hector.
「This ring… I received it the other day from someone named Ky-sama. He’s your friend, isn’t he, Hector-san?」
「…So it was him after all. Yeah, the best friend I mentioned before, but why did he give that to you?」
「It seems he had various thoughts about my ability to perceive things.」
A pale yellow line of surprise stretches out. As always, the prediction lines move in complex ways and are hard to read, but that one stood out clearly, so he must have been surprised. Immediately after, a long indigo line of anxiety appears.
When someone is shaken, it becomes harder to read their emotions. Especially with someone who doesn’t show expressions, but if he’s surprised and anxious after learning my ability was discovered… then perhaps he’s worried I think he broke our promise.
「Ah, I know you kept your promise, Hector-san. Ky-sama… how should I put it… he’s incredibly perceptive. He seemed able to read my emotions just from my expression.」
「…Yeah. I didn’t break my promise with you.」
The anxiety line shrinks to less than half, confirming I was right, and I feel relieved as well. Being able to see emotions makes conversations tense sometimes… because you can tell immediately if you’ve responded incorrectly.
After that, I explained how I stopped them from eating poison in town that day, and how Ky gave me the ring in this shop. Once he finishes listening, Hector finally seems to calm down. The chaotic movement of the prediction lines settles, and as they shorten, a particular emotion grows stronger.
That color is reddish-purple, representing dissatisfaction or discontent. His expression remains a sparkling smile, so you wouldn’t notice it just by looking at his face. But what exactly is he dissatisfied about? I don’t understand.
「He said my ability is something nobles would want, so, he gave me this ring so I could have a choice.」
「That ring serves as proof you’re already under contract, so what he said isn’t a lie. …But he can be really arbitrary at times. It must’ve been a lot for you.」
「Well, still… it seemed like he was trying to protect me.」
「That’s true, but still. He could’ve at least said something to me. I was the one who got close to Cyril-san first.」
He says it with a sweet face and an extremely cheerful tone, but perhaps it’s not a joke. I didn’t think we had become that close, but from Hector’s perspective, we are. And it’s true that he and Ky are very close. They must have been the kind of friends who share everything.
So perhaps he feels left out, important matters involving someone he knows were decided without him. If my presence as an outsider causes a rift in their friendship, that would be terrible.
「Perhaps it was simply a coincidence while he was visiting incognito. I’m sure he’ll explain everything in detail the next time you meet him.」
「That’s true. Though he’s busy, so it’s not like I can meet him often.」
「Yes. I think it would be best to express your dissatisfaction directly when you see him next.」
At that, Hector briefly shows a puzzled expression. It’s quickly hidden behind a smile, but it felt unexpectedly youthful. …When I see him outside, he always wears a smile like armor, but when we talk alone, that armor slips off occasionally, which surprises me.
The moment he heard 「express your dissatisfaction」 the color of his discontent shrank significantly. Now, the emotions visible are the usual translucent love, affection, and curiosity, so he’s back to normal. He’s calmed down quite a bit.
「I see… so I was dissatisfied. You’re amazing, you understand feelings about me that even I don’t understand.」
Apparently, he hadn’t realized it himself. Could it be that he suppresses his emotions behind a smile so much that he’s lost track of what he feels? That’s a little concerning.
「By the way, I’d like to ask you something. Recently, my chest has been restless for no reason… why do you think that is?」
「That’s…」
…It’s love. But there’s no way I can say that.
He’s twenty-two this year. A rare case of a man experiencing his first love at an age when most people have already gone through it during adolescence. I don’t have the courage to tell someone like him that he’s experiencing his first love.
They say first love doesn’t come true. When people fall in love, their thinking becomes light and unfocused, and they often lose sight of what’s around them. Only after heartbreak do they realize these things, but during a first love, they rarely have that awareness.
Because they can’t control themselves, they end up troubling others and the person they like, and it ends without coming to fruition, that’s what I think.
(I don’t know how Hector-san will act once he realizes it’s love… and if people find out…)
More than anything, I’m worried about the girl. Considering the possibility that all the women in town might turn against her, I don’t have the courage to say, 「That’s love」. Even if I did, I’m not sure he’d believe it, he might just say there’s no way he’d fall for a woman.
(I’ll just let him figure it out himself. I won’t say anything)
It’s not that I’m too lazy to think about it. Absolutely not. I just believe it’s more natural for him to realize it himself. It’s not that I want to avoid responsibility.
「That’s hard to say with just that information. For now, how about trying some herbal tea that calms the mind?」
「That sounds good. I’ll buy some.」
「Thank you. I’ll prepare it right away.」
Having successfully dodged the topic and even sold extra tea leaves, I feel relieved, and then remember something. I finally got to talk about what I wanted to discuss today. I should thank him.
「Thank you for listening to me today.」
「…About Ky?」
「Yes. You were the only person I could talk to… I feel relieved after being able to tell someone. So, thank you.」
I didn’t think we were that close, but the number of people I can talk to about personal matters is limited, Jean and Hector. That makes him someone close after all.
It’s rare for me to feel relieved just from talking to someone. Even though I say we’re not close and I don’t intend to be, part of me is trying to get closer. It almost makes me want to laugh at myself. I’ve been building walls this whole time, am I now wishing for friends?
(…Hm?)
When I lift my head, I see Hector’s usual smile. As he laughs and says, 「You don’t have to thank me for something like that」 the color of love above his head seems to stretch slightly.
(…Maybe it’s just my imagination)
Well, love grows when you think of the person you care about. That’s nothing unusual. Whether it works out or not is another matter, but I silently cheer him on.
「By the way, I was thinking of going out to gather materials soon.」
「Then next time, I’ll come with you to the forest. Let me be your guard.」
Before I could say there’s no need for a guard, he had already decided. …He probably can’t meet the person he likes on his days off. It’s very convenient for me, though.
「…Thank you. Then, see you next week.」
「Yeah. …Oh, right. That ring looks loose, so you should thread it onto a string and wear it around your neck. If you tuck it under your clothes, it won’t stand out. See you next week.」
After seeing Hector off with a smile as he waves goodbye, I lock the back door again. As I head toward the underground workshop to prepare what I can, I think to myself,
(I wonder if I have a suitable string somewhere…)
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