Chapter 5
I, Cyril Vedito, can see lines of various colors above other people’s heads.
Before opening hours. I checked my appearance in the full-length mirror and, as usual, felt a bit of disappointment when I saw nothing above my own head. I can see the things that show other people’s emotions and their near futures, yet I cannot see anything about my own. I can’t tell whether this power is convenient or inconvenient.
(If I could see my own… I feel like I could at least prepare myself a little)
「Good morning. Nice weather, isn’t it?」
For example, it would be nice if I could predict things like stepping outside to put up the 「Open」 sign and finding a customer waiting there in a grimy cloak with the hood pulled low over their face. Or that the customer is actually the Flower Knight, a beauty so famous he has to disguise himself. Or that realizing he’s my very first customer of the day would make my mood plummet. If I could see things like that coming, it would be nice.
「…Good morning. Please come inside.」
「Thank you kindly.」
His face is mostly hidden by the hood, but I could see a smile on his well-shaped lips as he slipped into the shop. The reason I can hardly hold back from sighing is because getting involved with him feels like it will bring trouble. Who can guarantee that some woman crazed with jealousy won’t harass me, or worse, stab me?
Since I can’t see my own prediction lines, all I can do is nervously watch my surroundings and make sure no one sees us. Ah, if only I could see my own prediction lines. …Though if I did and they showed signs of some incident approaching, that would be troubling too.
「Your medicine works really well. After I apply this, it doesn’t hurt at all.」
「…No. It still hurts, doesn’t it?」
As he says this, Hector takes out the empty bottle, but I can still see the color of pain above him. The line has shortened, so it’s true the pain has lessened, but I won’t be fooled by the gentle smile he’s putting on.
…When he heard my answer, the yellow-green line above Hector’s head stretched slightly. That’s a reality I’d rather pretend I didn’t see.
(To think this person would take an interest in me…)
Instead of the color of disgust that I always used to see along with the line of pain, there is now yellow-green, the emotional color of interest and curiosity. Since I’m the only person here, there’s no doubt it’s directed at me. Well, it may be unavoidable since he has already realized that I possess some kind of power, but I still don’t like it.
To get him to leave as soon as possible, I quickly take the empty medicine bottle and start cleaning it. The medicine I give him is special, so refilling it takes a little time.
「Please wait at the table in the back while I refill the medicine.」
「The back? …Oh, there are seats here. I didn’t notice.」
Further inside beyond the counter, there’s a small table and chairs. It’s a space prepared for things like letting customers sample medicine or talking in detail about what kind of medicine they want. There’s a partition so that other customers can’t see it.
However, since most of the customers who come to this pharmacy want love advice, that seat is rarely used. …Because customers seeking fortune-telling can settle their matters right at the counter.
「This spot’s nice. No one can see you here.」
「Some customers may not want others to know they’re consulting about remedies, so I arranged the space out…」
I was about to say 「..of consideration」 but the sound of the doorbell ringing through the shop made me stop mid sentence. Hector, who had already taken a seat, seems to have erased his presence, suddenly feeling much less noticeable.
Since he came here hiding under the hood of a cloak, he also probably doesn’t want to be seen walking around, and he likely doesn’t want people to know he comes to this shop either. On that point, I feel exactly the same way, so if he hides himself willingly it helps me. I must make sure that the visiting customer leaves without realizing that the Flower Knight is inside the store.
「Welcome.」
「Good morning. I came again.」
Saying that shyly, one of the women who could be called a regular headed toward the shelves lined with tea leaves. Of course, she’s not here for medicine, she’s one of the customers who buys tea and asks for fortune-telling.
Judging from the prediction lines above her head, things in her romantic life seem to be going well. However, among the happy lines there’s one with a troubling color mixed in. …The dark purple color is a prediction line indicating illness or some physical problem. It’s still short, so perhaps the sickness has only just begun.
「Today I’ll take the usual tea, and this as well.」
What she placed on the counter was one of this shop’s popular relaxing herbal teas, along with a nutritional tonic. Her face shows a cheerful smile, but it seems she’s feeling some fatigue.
「…That will be 300 bel. This may be none of my business, but you might want to see a doctor once.」
Just by looking at prediction lines I can’t tell what kind of illness it is. It might be just a cold, or it might be something more serious. Determining that is the role of a specialist, a doctor, not mine.
I take the payment, pack the goods into a paper bag, and hand them over. The woman receiving it looks at me with eyes that almost contain admiration, and the emotion line of respect extends above her head accordingly. …I wish she wouldn’t look at me like that. I can’t actually do anything that remarkable.
「Recently I’ve been feeling a bit sluggish… Cyril-san, you really can see everything, can’t you? Thank you very much. I’ll see a doctor sometime soon. …Um, by the way… about that…」
「If it’s about romance, I think there’s nothing to worry about.」
「I see, that’s good. Well then, thank you very much.」
I send the woman off with a smile as she leaves the shop, and once the door closes I drop the polite smile from my face. Then I resume the refilling work I had interrupted.
The medicine Hector uses is something that removes magical corruption, so naturally it has healing magic cast on it. Magical medicines like this quickly deteriorate unless they’re placed in special containers that can hold magic. If you’re a mage, you can protect them by wrapping them in your own magic even in ordinary containers, but that’s impossible for normal people.
After transferring the medicine into a small bottle made specifically for magical medicine, in other words, a magic flask, I seal it with magical power and close the lid. With that, the quality and effect of the medicine won’t deteriorate until it’s opened next time. Once opened, it will lose its power in about a week unless the magical protection is reapplied, but if it remains unopened it can last for years, that’s the advantage of magic flasks.
Ordinary humans can’t see magical power, so I was boldly using magic while doing the refilling. But then I felt a piercing gaze and, unable to ignore it, turned my eyes in that direction.
「…Is there something you need?」
「I was just thinking that you don’t even give me a polite smile.」
「It’s a bit late for that now.」
Since I run a business dealing with people, I do try to greet customers with a smile. But with Hector, the way we met, or rather the unusual situation in which he became a customer, left me with no room to smile. I showed rejection from the very beginning, so suddenly putting on a customer-service smile now would only feel strange.
「An accident, a pirate ship, injuries, and now illness. You can see a lot of things, can’t you?」
I almost glared at his sickeningly sweet face, actually I did glare for a moment, but I quickly looked away. Glaring at a customer is unacceptable in customer service. Even if I’m irritated that he was eavesdropping on my conversation with that woman and trying to grasp the nature of my abilities, I can’t let it show on my face.
「…………Our promise.」
「It’s fine, I won’t tell anyone. But I want to know about you. I’ll keep it secret, so won’t you tell me?」
As expected of a man said to be a flirt who plays around with women. He calmly says things that sound almost as if he harbors some affection.
Certainly, when words like that are whispered with such a sweet face and voice, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to feel their heart race and think 「maybe」 or begin to hope for something. Ordinary people who can’t see emotions can only guess at another person’s heart through their behavior.
(At this point I’m almost impressed. This person understands his own charm and has gathered information this way… even though he hates women.)
It’s probably true that he hates women. It’s strange that he doesn’t direct disgust toward me, but whenever women are around him I can see the emotion of disgust, so there’s no mistake.
This man is an incredible liar. His emotions and his words don’t match, yet he behaves completely naturally. He shows no awkwardness while lying. Of course he feels no guilt either. That’s why he can keep smiling even while carrying pain and disgust. …I don’t know how he ended up like that, but I do feel some sympathy. That way of living cannot possibly be easy.
「Hm, having no reaction at all might hurt my feelings, you know?」
「My apologies. I was thinking about something. More importantly, your medicine is refilled, so please come here.」
Since I know he isn’t hurt, I brush it aside lightly and place the medicine on the counter. I need to settle the payment and send him off before another customer arrives. If it becomes known that the Flower Knight comes to this shop, it would be troublesome for both of us.
「What’s in this medicine that makes it cost this much?」
「It uses herbs that aren’t sold around here. They grow a bit deeper in the forest, so the price includes hazard pay.」
「Do you go gather them yourself? Don’t you hire a knight as an escort or… 」
「Only wealthy people can afford that. I’m just a humble pharmacist.」
Knights are professionals in combat. They do city patrols, protect important figures, serve as soldiers in wartime, and even hunt magical beasts. Hiring them is expensive, but wealthy people often request their escort when passing through forests. After all, there’s no point in losing your life just to save money.
But I’m the owner of a small pharmacy. Even if the shop is doing fairly well, if I hired a knight escort every time I entered the forest, I would go bankrupt in no time. So I must enter the forest with extreme caution and gather what I need for my business with my own hands.
「I see. Then I’ll escort you.」
「Huh?」
The suggestion was so unexpected that I must have shown a rather foolish expression. Hector started laughing in amusement, so I immediately snapped out of it.
What on earth is this man suddenly saying? He’s muttering things like 「So you didn’t see that one coming, huh」 but of course I wouldn’t. How the hell was I supposed to predict that a knight who hates women would offer to escort a young pharmacist girl just because he’s curious and interested?
「You can gather materials safely, and if you give me a bit of a discount on the medicine, I won’t charge an escort fee. What do you think? I think it’s a good idea.」
It certainly is a good proposal. Being able to gather herbs with a knight escort, and the price being just a discount on medicine, I would gladly accept. …If the knight in question weren’t the Flower Knight.
If someone saw me heading into the forest with him, I feel like various aspects of my life would come to an end.
He must be aware of how many women in town are targeting him. I wish he would consider the impact he has on those around him.
「I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. That will be 10,000 bel. The exit is over there.」
「Wow… that was unexpected. I’ve never seen a girl who would refuse the chance to be alone with me without even hesitating.」
I can immediately tell that his interest has increased again, and I struggle desperately to keep from frowning. Why is he so concerned with me? I wish he would just leave me alone.
「Well then, call me when you go gathering herbs.」
「Wait, what?」
That one remark he left behind before walking out of the shop with a smile gives me a very bad feeling. But before I could stop him, the door closed and he disappeared beyond it.
(…Next time I gather herbs, I’ll leave early in the morning. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.)
Even though I can’t see my own prediction lines, why do I feel like that effort will be useless? I slump forward onto the counter once again.
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