Chapter 4.5
A womanizer, a playboy, a man who has made more women cry than there are stars in the sky.
That’s how the world sees me, Hector Alderde. And honestly, that’s only natural, because I act in a way that makes them think so.
(Truth is, I actually hate women…)
Ever since I was a child, they’ve chased me around constantly. There were times they came at me breathing heavily, and I genuinely feared for my life. My face must be very appealing to women. They have no interest in what’s inside me, only praising the outside, 「pretty」 「cute」, and relentlessly chasing after it. Until I learned how to toy with them in the palm of my hand rather than just running away, women honestly terrified me. …Even now, I still can’t bring myself to like them.
(At best, they’re just a handy source of information.)
Women love gossip. Though of course, most of it is just messy, pointless rumor. But sometimes it’s useful. So taking on the persona of a smooth-talking flirt who can sweet-talk anyone was convenient when it came to listening to them. I knew my looks appealed to women, so I decided to make use of that, and the effect was tremendous.
Thanks to that, I can’t freely go out with my real face anymore, but I don’t regret it.
Anyway. My face and voice become powerful weapons against women when I consciously use them. Especially against young girls, no matter how strong-willed they are, if I whisper sweetly, their faces go red and they lose their composure. And once that happens, they eagerly tell me everything they know.
(I really thought this case was perfect for me too… and yet the investigation got cancelled, huh.)
Apparently, there was someone who predicted that pirates would attack the bustling harbor.
The person who predicted the pirates’ arrival became a topic among the knights. If, just as rumored, there is someone who can foresee dangers threatening our country or this town, then as knights who face danger head-on, we want that power. Maybe they’re even some kind of future-seeing mage. If so, we should find whoever made that prophecy, yet the investigation was stopped almost immediately.
Because right after they started looking, news came that it hadn’t been a 「prophetic warning」 at all, but simply something a popular fortune-teller said recently.
There’s a fortune-teller whose readings are extremely accurate. Especially when it comes to love consultations, apparently they tend to succeed after speaking with her. She even said people might get injured that day, and lo and behold, it happened again, just like always! That kind of story spread, and everyone lost all tension.
So it wasn’t prophecy, just fortune-telling? Ridiculous. Then the pirates appearing really was just coincidence, huh?, that was the atmosphere. And in the middle of that, I remembered a certain girl I’d only recently met.
A young girl with white hair and red eyes, who stopped me while I was walking through town in disguise to avoid attention. Her hair and eyes were unusual enough to leave a strong impression.
Shouting something like, 「Don’t go that way, you’ll die」 she grabbed my arm tightly and forcibly stopped me. She was shocked when she saw my face under the hood, so she clearly didn’t stop me because she knew who I was. And right after that, a runaway carriage crashed violently into the exact spot I would have been walking if she hadn’t stopped me.
That was definitely danger foresight. And I’m almost certain, the person who warned about the pirates that day must also be her.
The knights let themselves get fooled by the word 「fortune-telling」 but that ability of hers isn’t just some silly thing women giggle about. The official investigation may have been canceled, but there’s no problem if I look into it privately. …So, I decided to investigate a little myself.
「Hello there, beautiful butterfly. Mind letting me ask you a few questions?」
「E-Hector-sama…!?」
Finding the fortune-teller herself was easy. All I had to do was smile and ask passing girls about a fortune-teller who’s supposedly accurate. If I smiled and said, 「My next mission will take me somewhere dangerous, so I want to ask if there’s anything I should be careful of」 they happily told me everything.
Her shop’s location, what she looks like, her name, her reputation. From just one girl, I already had that much. A woman named Cyril, with snow-white hair and apple-red eyes, with an odd atmosphere about her, she’s the one whose fortune-telling is said to be accurate. That was all I needed to know.
While finding it convenient how easily my looks loosen women’s tongues, I also couldn’t help but somewhat despise women who open their hearts just because of appearance alone. Plastering a smile on my face, I said goodbye, and repeated that process two or three more times.
Now I had enough information. All I needed to do next was disguise myself to avoid attention, visit her shop when there wouldn’t be many people around, and then do what I always do. She’s just a young girl. Getting her to talk shouldn’t be difficult.
(All I have to do is smile and speak gently. I’m the flower, and they’re the butterflies gathering for nectar… It’s simple.)
Even though I’m deliberately using my own looks like that, I still end up despising the girls who get caught by them. It’s contradictory, isn’t it?
Just watching those girls, who only look at the surface and pursue me for it, makes my face want to twist. Honestly, it’s harder to keep my fake smile from cracking at that than it is to endure the constant stabbing pain in my right hand while I smile.
…But this is the path I chose. Since I became useless with a sword, I at least wanted to be useful somehow by using what strengths I still had.
(Reactions from the people, rumors… those things are valuable.)
Even if I lost my place fighting on the frontlines, I can still act as a knight and serve my country in other ways. That’s why I made myself into a 「flower knight」, something dazzling that catches attention.
Thanks to that, I can no longer freely wander around with my face exposed… but I absolutely do not regret it.
Since then, Caios has worried about me constantly. I didn’t want him to notice the pain that never goes away in my immobile right hand and feel even more guilt, so smiling became something I forced myself to do. I’ve been enduring this relentless pain for so long with nothing but painkillers that I’ve gotten rather used to it.
Even now, I still meet Caios from time to time and talk about pointless things. It’s been over six years since I was removed from duty as his bodyguard, and neither he nor anyone else has realized that the pain in my right hand has never gone away. But that’s fine.
(A fortune-teller who’s always accurate must have some kind of special power… Caios will definitely be interested in this.)
Honestly, I only thought it would make for a good story to tell a friend. That’s all. That’s why I decided to look into the fortune-teller in the first place. I really did go to see her with nothing more than that light of a mindset.
When I approached the fortune-teller girl who had just stepped outside to open her shop, instead of being pleased when she recognized me, her face twisted in pure annoyance. That left a strong impression.
It surprised me, sure, but in the end, she’s just a young girl. I figured she’d be easy enough to handle, and basically forced my way inside to talk to her, but…
(Huh… weird. This is probably the first time someone’s treated me like this.)
She didn’t react anything like I’d expected. In fact, she was almost cold toward me, and wouldn’t tell me anything I wanted to hear. Or rather, she hardly even looked at my face. Sometimes it almost seemed like she was looking not at me, but at something above my head, past me entirely. Maybe she was deliberately avoiding eye contact?
(I see… everyone gets flustered when they look at my face, so maybe if she just doesn’t look, my usual tricks won’t work…? Maybe…?)
4.5話
A womanizer, a playboy, a man who has made more women cry than there are stars in the sky.
That’s how the world sees me, Hector Alderde. And of course they would, because I deliberately act in a way that makes them think so.
(Truth is, I actually hate women…)
Ever since I was a child, they would chase me around, and there were times they came at me breathing heavily enough that I genuinely felt my life was in danger. My face must be extremely appealing to women. They have no interest whatsoever in what’s inside me, only praising my exterior as 「beautiful」 「cute」 and endlessly glorifying and pursuing only my looks.
Until I learned how to play them in the palm of my hand rather than simply fleeing, I was honestly terrified of these creatures called women. …Even now, I still can’t bring myself to like them at all.
(At best, they’re just a convenient source of information.)
Women love gossip. Though of course, it’s still just gossip, plenty of it is messy and pointless. But sometimes it becomes useful. So for the sake of gathering information from them, taking on the image of a frivolous guy who can sweet-talk anyone turned out to be convenient. I was aware that my appearance was very much to women’s taste, so when I tried using that, the effect was overwhelming. Thanks to that, I can no longer freely go out with my face uncovered, but I don’t regret it.
Anyway. When I consciously use my face and voice, they become powerful weapons against women. With young girls in particular, no matter how composed they may act, if I whisper sweetly, their faces turn red and they instantly lose composure. And once they’re like that, they eagerly tell me everything they know.
(I really thought this case was perfect for me… but they canceled the investigation, huh.)
Apparently there was someone who predicted that pirates would attack the busy harbor.
The person who predicted the pirates’ arrival became a topic within the knight order. If, just as rumored, there is someone who can foresee dangers threatening our nation or this town, then as knights who stand at the front line of danger, we’d want that power. Maybe they’re even some kind of future-seeing magician. If so, we should find whoever made that prophecy.
, However, the investigation that began was called off almost immediately.
Why? Because right after they started looking, word came out that it wasn’t a prophecy of danger at all, but merely something a currently popular fortune-teller had said.
「There’s a fortune-teller whose readings are extremely accurate.」
「Especially love consultations, they tend to succeed if you talk to her.」
「She said people might get injured that day, and look, it came true again!」
Hearing things like that, everyone lost their tension.
So it wasn’t prophecy, just fortune-telling? Ridiculous. Then the pirates appearing must’ve just been coincidence, huh?, That was the mood everyone settled into.
And in the middle of that atmosphere, I remembered a certain girl I’d only recently met.
A young girl with white hair and red eyes who stopped me while I was walking disguised through town so as not to attract attention. Her hair and eyes were unusual enough to leave a strong impression.
She grabbed my arm, shouting something like, 「Don’t go that way, you’ll die」 and forcibly stopped me. She looked shocked when she saw my face under the hood, so she clearly hadn’t stopped me because she recognized who I was. And right after that, a runaway carriage crashed violently into the exact spot I would have been walking if she hadn’t stopped me.
That was most definitely a genuine danger warning. And as for the fortune-teller who supposedly gave advice on the day of the pirate attack, I’m nearly certain it was her.
The knight order let themselves be fooled by the word 「fortune-telling」 but that ability of hers is completely different from the kind of thing girls squeal over for fun. The official investigation was canceled, but personally looking into it shouldn’t be a problem. …So I decided to do a little investigating myself.
「Hello there, beautiful butterfly. Mind letting me ask you a few questions?」
「H–Hector-sama…!?」
If all I needed to do was find the fortune-teller, that was easy. I just had to smile and ask passing girls about this 「accurate fortune-teller.」 If I smiled and said something like, 「My next mission will take me somewhere dangerous, so I want to see if there’s anything I should be careful of」 they kindly told me everything.
Her shop location, what she looks like, her name, her reputation. Just asking one girl gave me that much. A woman named Cyril, with snow-white hair and apple-red eyes, with a mysterious atmosphere about her, that was the fortune-teller reputed to be accurate. That was all the information I needed.
Finding it convenient how easily my looks loosen women’s tongues, while at the same time despising those who place their trust in me based only on appearance, I kept my smile plastered on as I said goodbye. I repeated that process two or three times.
Now I had the necessary information. All that was left was to disguise myself so I wouldn’t attract attention, visit her shop at a time when there wouldn’t be many people, and then proceed as usual. My opponent is just a young girl, getting her to talk shouldn’t be difficult.
(If I just smile and talk gently, that’s enough. I’m the flower, and they’re the butterflies gathering for nectar… It’s simple.)
Even though I’m knowingly using my own appearance like this, I still can’t help feeling a sense of contempt toward the girls who fall for it. Is that contradictory, I wonder?
Just watching these women, who look only at the surface and desire me for it, makes my face feel like it wants to twist. Enduring the constant stabbing pain in my right hand while forcing myself to smile is actually easier than forcing that fake smile not to break when dealing with them.
…But this is the path I chose. Since I became useless with a sword, I at least wanted to be useful somehow by using whatever strengths I still had.
(Public reactions, rumors… that kind of thing still has value.)
Even if I lost my place fighting on the frontlines, I can still act as a knight and serve my country in other ways. That’s why I deliberately turned myself into a 「flower knight」 something dazzling that attracts attention.
Because of that, I can no longer freely walk around with my real face, but I absolutely do not regret it.
Since then, Caios has constantly worried about me. I didn’t want him to notice the pain that never goes away in my immobile right hand and feel even more guilt, so I began forcing a smile. I’ve endured this pain for so long, always relying on painkillers, that by now I’ve grown rather accustomed to it.
Even now, I still occasionally meet Caios and chat about pointless things. It’s been over six years since I was removed from duty as his bodyguard, and neither he nor anyone else has realized the pain in my right hand never disappeared. But that’s fine.
(A fortune-teller who’s always accurate has to possess some kind of special power. …Caios will definitely bite onto this story.)
Honestly speaking, I mostly thought it would make for an interesting story to tell my friend. That was really all. That’s why I decided to look into the fortune-teller. I truly went to meet her lightly, without thinking deeply.
When I approached the fortune-teller girl who had come outside to open her shop, instead of being pleased when she recognized me, her face twisted in sincere annoyance. That left a strong impression.
It surprised me, sure, but in the end, she’s just a young girl. I figured I could easily handle her, and basically forced my way into her shop to talk, but…
(Huh… weird. This is probably the first time I’ve been treated like this.)
She didn’t react anything like I’d expected. In fact, she treated me rather coldly, and didn’t tell me anything I wanted to hear at all. Or rather, she barely even looked at my face. Sometimes it almost looked like she was staring not at me, but at something above my head, past me entirely, maybe deliberately avoiding looking at me?
(I see… everyone gets flustered when they look at my face, so if she simply refuses to look, then my usual approach won’t work… is that it?)
That reaction was refreshing, since most people practically can’t help but stare at my face. In that case, if I forcibly made her look at me, would she blush like the other girls? Thinking that, I reached toward her pale cheek, but before I could touch her, my other hand, my right hand, was grabbed instead.
Being touched doesn’t make the pain worse, but I was so shocked to have my painful right hand suddenly grabbed that for a moment, my smile slipped. She didn’t notice, because she was staring intently at my right hand, and I quickly put the smile back on anyway. …But I couldn’t even voice a 「What are you doing?」 because the red eyes staring at my right hand were so incredibly serious.
「If it hurts, then make a face like it hurts. It’s hard to tell otherwise.」
How did she know? I wasn’t showing it on my face. No one had noticed it for years. Frozen in place from various shocks, I could do nothing as she smoothly applied medicine to my hand and wrapped it with a bandage.
…Strangely enough, ever since she rubbed that medicine in, the pain eased so smoothly that it shocked me again.
(The pain has eased a lot… Just what is this medicine…?)
Medicine that, just by applying it, eases mysterious pain. Expensive, but worth the price. That alone was surprising, but even more than that, it was something else. The words spoken by this expressionless girl in such a calm tone shocked me the most.
「This happened because you’ve been leaving it untreated. …If you’re in pain, you don’t need to force yourself to smile, you know.」
「If you’re in pain, you don’t need to force yourself to smile.」 Hearing that, I truly forgot how to smile for once. For someone like me, who believed I needed to keep smiling, those words strangely sank deep into me.
Just what is this girl? I didn’t wonder that out of distrust, but out of curiosity. Even after leaving her shop, my head was full of thoughts about this strange, special girl.
(It’s certain she has some kind of special power. There might even be a tiny possibility that she’s… a magician.)
Just like magical creatures known as 「monsters」 are nearly extinct now,
human beings with magic, called magicians, are also nearly extinct.
Magicians were special humans who could use unique magic inherited within their bloodlines, but that power could only be passed down within the family, and even then, not all children inherited it. Their numbers gradually dwindled, and on top of that, in history, there were cases where power-hungry rulers captured them and imprisoned them.
So magicians stopped flaunting their power, lived quietly among ordinary people, mingled with them, and through intermixing, their blood rapidly diluted and their powers faded. No magician has been officially found in over a hundred years, and they are now considered extinct.
(But whether she’s a magician or not doesn’t matter right now. What matters is, )
Since we now each hold the other’s secret, I can’t even tell Caios about whatever ability she has. Even so, I will probably keep visiting her as I 「buy medicine.」
I just want to know what that strange girl named Cyril sees, what she thinks about as she goes through her days. I want to know what would make her blush like the women in town. And when she does, what kind of face will she make? I want to see it.
It’s pure curiosity. For the first time that day, I felt not hatred toward a woman, but interest. I never imagined such a day would come, so it feels strange. But it isn’t unpleasant.
(If I’m the flower, and the women who gather around me are butterflies… then what is she, I wonder?)
Thinking that, a smile naturally slipped out beneath the hood pulled low over my eyes.
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