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Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In the gentle sunlight, a breeze carries the scent of the forest. Holding a light meal, just bread stuffed with vegetables, ham, and the like, I looked up at the blue sky. Ah, what nice weather. But… I can’t help wondering where I went wrong.

「Wow, this is delicious」

Just where and how did I make a mistake that led to eating a homemade lunch side by side with the Flower Knight?

We are in a clearing in the forest, an artificially opened space. Trees have been cut down in a circle, allowing sunlight to reach into the area, which keeps magical beasts away. There are several places like this in the forest, created so the knight order can rest during extermination missions.

There, with a cloth spread out and our lunches laid side by side, Hector and I are eating together. It’s already well past lunchtime, an hour when enjoying afternoon tea wouldn’t be strange, but I was able to gather plenty of herbs.. And if we’ve been active until this late, it’s only natural to get hungry. …So perhaps things ending up like this were inevitable, or unavoidable.

(I couldn’t very well be the only one eating…)

I’m really glad I made an extra lunch box in case something happened. It isn’t much for two people, but I offered most of it to Hector, so he shouldn’t complain. I can eat properly after I get home.

「Just eating this somehow makes me feel energized. Did you put something in it?」

「Well, this and that.」

「…Did you maybe put some kind of medicine…」

「Something like medicine that makes you feel better, yes」

Rather than medicine, each piece of bread has a light healing spell cast on it. It’s extremely weak, so eating it won’t heal wounds or eliminate fatigue. It only gives a small boost, just enough to feel a bit better and think, “Alright, let’s do my best this afternoon.”

But when Hector heard the word medicine, he froze and stared at the bread. Then the colors showing distrust and wariness began to extend.

(This… doesn’t feel like he noticed the magic… ah, I see)

Seeing even the color of disgust, something that had stopped appearing when he was in front of me, began to stretch again, I understood. He had probably been drugged by a woman before, with a medicine meant to “energize” him in a different sense.

「It’s not that kind of medicine, so please rest assured」

The way he looked over at me as if startled made me almost laugh. Just by looking at his face, it was easy to imagine the kinds of trouble he must have endured simply because he’s handsome.

Having great looks isn’t always a good thing. Those blessed with good looks suffer precisely because of it. The most obvious examples are things like being stalked or having something strange slipped into their food or drink. There are surely many other things as well.

「You’re sharp. But that’s not it. I’m not doubting you. …It just reminded me of something」

「…Sounds like you are having it tough.」

I sympathized with him from the bottom of my heart. With beauty so overwhelming it melts reason. Sitting beside him like this and looking at his face, I can only think that even a meticulously crafted doll wouldn’t be this perfect. Walking around town with his face exposed, he is bound to be surrounded and draw a lot of attention. …He’s the kind of person who makes you wonder if he’s using charm magic, simply because he attracts others so unceasingly.

(…But maybe that isn’t that far-fetched?)

Knights are positioned somewhere between nobles and commoners. If a knight accomplishes a great feat, he alone can be granted a title, recognized as a noble, and even marry a noble’s daughter.

Hector’s family is exactly that kind. They’ve gained fame as knights for generations, meaning they’ve received titles each generation, and have repeatedly welcomed noble daughters into the family. Hector himself doesn’t yet have a title, but he probably will eventually. His lineage could practically be called noble.

And long ago, some mages were kept under the protection of nobles. It wouldn’t be strange if some nobles had mage blood in them, and even if magical power isn’t inherited by a child, it might awaken later in grandchildren or great-grandchildren, descendants far down the line.

(He couldn’t see traces of magic contamination in the right hand, so even if he inherited it, it must be weak… but combined with his original looks, the effect might be amplified)

It’s only a possibility, of course. Ordinary people have no resistance to magic and are weak against magical contamination. Considering how he endured for six years, it doesn’t seem impossible.

Well, whether charm magic exists or not, the fact remains that he’s an unparalleled beauty. Either way, his hardships probably wouldn’t change.

「It’s strange… sometimes you’re so sharp it feels like you can hear my inner thoughts」

「I can’t hear them」

Though I can tell what emotions someone is feeling.

Some mages in the past apparently used mind-reading magic, but my ability isn’t that precise. …Still, seeing someone’s emotional movements probably isn’t pleasant, so I have no intention of telling him.

「I actually like talking with you quite a lot. It feels like you’re not really looking at my outer self. …Just kidding. Don’t tell the butterflies I said that!」

「Of course I won’t disclose personal information about my customers. Please rest assured」

「Ah, you were speaking pretty casually earlier. Suddenly it feels like you’ve put distance between us, which is kind of lonely」

He said it in such a bright tone that it sounded like a joke, but above his head I could see a faint light-blue line, showing loneliness, extend just a little. I closed the mouth I had opened to say “Surely you jest.”

He lies with a face that makes lies seem true, and says his true feelings as if they were jokes. This man is a liar. By mixing lies and truth together, he makes himself hard to understand.

「…You’re a troublesome person」

「Huh?」

「If you don’t say your true feelings like they’re true feelings, they’re hard to understand」

If I had only looked at his voice and gestures just now, I wouldn’t have realized either. Seeing that faint loneliness, I shifted my polite speech slightly while thinking that he really was troublesome.

It’s probably true that he wants to talk to me more casually. Since he lies this habitually, it’s easy to imagine he has very few friends he can truly trust.

(I can’t become his friend… but I’ve already grown a bit attached)

To hide my ability, I avoid creating relationships deeper than friendship. The closer people become, the harder it is to keep secrets. Thinking about that, you have to be very selective about who you grow close to.

Rather than finding someone trustworthy enough to keep my secret, I decided it would be easier to build walls from the start. Aside from Jean and his family, there’s no one I’d call close.

What I feel for Hector is more sympathy than affection. But being on somewhat friendly terms with a regular customer and a pharmacist shouldn’t be a problem. My unusual ability is already partly exposed anyway, and until he’s fully cured our association won’t disappear. Continuing to stubbornly reject him is exhausting.

「You really are strange」

Above Hector’s head, the color of interest had shortened. I should have been happy about that phenomenon I’d long wanted, but another new color had appeared instead.

(That’s… the color of affection)

A pale pink color, the opposite of disgust. Pure friendliness, the color of goodwill. It resembles the color of love I see every day, but I can easily tell it’s different. The person I usually see this color above is Jean.

I never imagined Hector would feel familiarity toward me, so it surprised me. …But since I also felt a shift in my feelings after talking with him today, maybe it isn’t strange. After all, we spent half the day together.

「Cyril-san, are you done gathering for today?」

「Eh? Ah, yes. I was thinking of heading back after we finish eating」

It might be the first time he’s called my name. This morning when he said “Cyril-chan” it wasn’t a direct address, and until now he’d always called me “you.” Somehow it makes me feel a little unsettled.

「Alright, then I’ll escort you out of the forest」

「…Thank you」

After finishing the lunch, we walk the road back. Hector seems to be in a good mood, I can tell from the predictive lines, but somehow from the atmosphere too. …Maybe it’s because the air between us doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

We aren’t exactly friends, but we’ve probably become somewhat close. Walking beside him feels easier than it did on the way here.

「Next time you come gathering, let me escort you again. For the sake of my right hand too, okay? Please」

He made the suggestion right after we exited the forest. His tone was joking again, but I think he meant the proposal seriously. It would certainly help me if he escorted me. He helped today, and I realized I can concentrate on gathering if I have a guard. In my current mood, there’s no reason to refuse.

…but simply accepting it would mean letting him trouble me too easily.

「Then please do. …It will make your medicine cheaper too, and if something happens to me, your right hand won’t be cured, which would be inconvenient」

Hector’s smile deepened when he heard that. I could tell from the movement of the prediction lines that he was internally flustered by my answer.

Of course I already knew his words weren’t meant literally. Saying it was for his own sake was just an excuse, he was worried about me after seeing me nearly attacked by a magical beast.

So that reply was a bit of payback. After all the curiosity-driven prodding that had exhausted me mentally, teasing him a little felt like a fair prank.

Still, leaving him like that forever would be pitiful. Amused by his rare reaction, I gave a small laugh and bowed deeply.

「Just kidding. You were simply worried about me, weren’t you, Hector-san. …Thank you very much for helping me today」

Maybe I’ve grown more fond of him than I expected. I’ve never met other customers outside the shop or spent time with them like this. …Thinking about it that way, it’s Hector’s fault for barging into my life so boldly, so I hope he’ll forgive a little rudeness.

「…Don’t say jokes with a blank face, you startled me」

「Then you should match your emotions and words」

When I raised my head, his face looked troubled, but also somewhat happy. That expression matched the prediction lines.

If he doesn’t want people to take his words literally, he should speak honestly. He really is troublesome. But now that I understand that this is simply the kind of person he is, my sense of discomfort has faded. Because if anyone suffers from this personality the most, it must be him himself.

「Well then, I’ll take my leave for today」

「Yeah. I’ll come before the medicine runs out」

「I’ll prepare a new batch by then」

I gave a light bow and turned my back to walk away. It turned out to be a better day off than I’d expected this morning. When I get home, I’ll start compounding the medicine right away.

If I had turned around at that moment, I might have found it strange. That Hector continued watching me until my back disappeared from view.