Ch. 252
“I’ll invite Chad, so Geenie, you… the Leader….”
No wonder she came fully prepared, saying she’d trim my hair.
It seems she wanted to ask me for that from the very beginning. I shot her a knowing smile, which Akia behind me couldn’t see, and spat out quickly.
“No. I’m not going.”
“What? Why! You already accepted!”
“I’m allowed to go back on my word!”
“That’s so mean!”
“Two women going out to have fun is different from going with a man! That kind of stuff is cringey!”
If I hadn’t been in the middle of a haircut, I would have shot up and run away from this spot.
Akia was quite something.
To aim for a time when I couldn’t escape!
“Geenie! Please. I don’t have any other friends to ask here, and you’re the only one who would go with me… I’m sure it’ll be fun!”
“You can just go with Chad.”
“……It’s embarrassing. What if he finds out I’m thinking about marriage all by myself!”
What do you mean, what if. He’d probably dance on the spot with joy.
That Chad fellow would be grateful to know Akia thought so highly of him.
Akia was a trustworthy and kind person, and like a doctor, she also had a strong side that didn’t fear blood, so the two of them were a good match one way or another.
Even now, she was a brave woman, holding my hair hostage to force me into a double date.
“They say there will be tons of delicious food! You don’t have to think of it as a big deal. It’s just a fun event where everyone wears a Flower crown, gathers in the square, dances, eats, and drinks. The alcohol is free!”
“I hate dancing.”
“You can just hold hands and walk around the fountain!”
If I had disliked this person who was desperately grabbing my shoulders and begging, it would have been easier to refuse.
I let out a displeased growl from my throat but couldn’t get any angrier.
Something like a double date isn’t in my dictionary… and even if it were, it would be classified under things I wouldn’t do even for money.
“Please! I’m sure the Leader will like it too.”
“Ash?”
“Yes! There’s no way he’d refuse, right?”
“……Well, I guess not.”
Suddenly, the words Chad had shouted at me yesterday echoed in my ears.
“Pay some attention to Ash!”
Was I that indifferent?
I kissed him, held his hand, and cherished him more than anyone.
Of course, I secretly read his mind, and the kisses were when I wanted and as much as I wanted.
I did grope him here and there as I pleased and used his feelings for me to instigate murder.
Still, if Ash told me not to kill, I didn’t, and I beat people up less than I would have…
[If it were me, I’d have fallen out of love. Totally.]
[What now!]
[If you act like you, Master, even a hundred years of love would go cold! Ash should be revered as a saint for putting up with that much!]
Lately, Rai sometimes seemed more on Ash’s side than mine.
The sly bastard.
Looks like he finally found which side to be on. It was infuriating, but it wasn’t wrong, so I decided to take it into consideration.
“……When is it? Tomorrow, you said?”
“It starts around sunset and goes late into the night!”
“I’ll go, but it’s only because I think Ash will like it. I’ve been tormenting him a bit lately.”
Since Rovenin appeared, Ash had become rather pitiful.
He had grown noticeably gaunt from always being on high alert, scanning his surroundings, and whenever he sensed Rovenin was nearby, he would act unusually friendly toward me, wanting to protect me by showing off our relationship.
Ash initiating physical contact with me was something that would normally never happen, so at times like that, I would grope all over Ash’s body as if I’d been waiting for it. The reason I unknowingly crossed the line was that a trained man’s body feels so damn good.
As I traced the hard, delicate muscles under his soft skin with my fingertips, I wished that body were mine.
It was already mine, but I wanted to possess it in a different sense. If my body had such high-quality muscles, I wouldn’t be having such a hard time with Rovenin.
I know that while there are none among humans, there are quite a few Spirit swordsmen among the elves.
But that’s only possible for the long-lived elves; humans struggled to master even one path in their short lives.
Even as I listened to the national anthem in Ash’s mind, I couldn’t stop caressing his body out of greed for his physique.
His delectable body was one thing, but there was also the distinct pleasure of tormenting his innocent soul.
Unaware of how thrilling the battle between patience and desire chaotically mixing inside Ash was, Akia just shouted, giddy with pure joy.
“It’s going to be a wonderful night! Just trust me. Actually, from the moment I bought that dress, I thought it would look perfect on you, Geenie!”
“You weren’t planning to drag me into this from back then, were you?”
“This festival has an old tradition. If a woman sends a note asking a man to meet her in the square, the man replies with a Flower crown he made himself!”
Akia smoothly dodged my question, but her voice was so excited, and the way she charged toward what she wanted was so cute that I decided to let it slide.
Right, Akia was the older one.
“There’s also a legend that if the man places the Flower crown on her head, and the two hold hands and dance around the square, they’ll be happy forever.”
“I don’t believe in things like that. If you could get happiness that easily, everyone would do it.”
“But it feels good in itself. Being happy in that moment is enough. Everyone believes in the power of that moment.”
“You really are the older sister.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Then shouldn’t we tell the men right away? If it’s tomorrow evening, we should probably send the notes now, right? We have to give them time to make the Flower crowns.”
The festival Akia was talking about was, by all accounts, for couples.
If nothing else, it was certain that Ash would blush prettily and offer me a Flower crown he had worked hard on.
Thinking about that, everything suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
“We should. I haven’t written the note yet because I don’t know how to bring it up… Actually, it’s already a bit late. We might get clumsy Flower crowns.”
“True, when would men have ever made a Flower crown?”
“Right? But I’ll be happy just for the fact that he tried his best to make it.”
“I’m confident Ash will make a better one than Chad. I’m willing to bet on it.”
My man is skilled with his hands and has good sense.
I was already somewhat confident about the Flower crown I would receive.
And I was certain it would be better than whatever Chad made.
Akia’s laughter from behind me was more cheerful than ever.
“Oh my, you never know. Chad may not look it, but his fingertips are so delicate. He has many younger sisters, and he used to braid their hair every morning. His mother passed away early, and he was afraid it would show. He even practiced braiding with weeds every day so his sisters wouldn’t get teased. Isn’t he a lovely person?”
“……So cringey!”
“We can make a bet if you want!”
“Fine. What’s the wager? What’s the standard?”
“Don’t worry about that. They give a prize at the festival to the person with the most beautiful Flower crown. We’ll bet on who gets the prize.”
“I accept your challenge.”
It was all in good fun, so neither of us even considered what would happen if we both failed to win a prize.
Instead, we laughed and chattered, saying the men would have to step up their game.
At my feet, Rai yawned languidly, and the weather was absolutely perfect.
What I felt in that moment, as someone hummed and carefully brushed my hair, was a pleasant peace and a languid happiness.
In the midst of it, I quietly realized.
That the life I had to continue living from now on wasn’t so bad.
Geenie Crowell’s life would surely be wonderful.
If I could just get rid of one annoying natural enemy!
“All done! Go on, get up!”
My hair was finished around the time I started to doze off.
Akia, who had been burning with determination, saying she had to finish cutting my hair before sunset, led me to the washstand with the mirror, looking very proud of her work.
“How is it? In my opinion, it’s a masterpiece! To overcome that severe asymmetry and make it so harmonious.”
“Well, if you draw a line on a jewel, it’s still a jewel.”
“You’re the most self-confident person I’ve ever met, Geenie, but I’m getting used to it now.”
Mirrors were expensive luxury items, so the mirror in the inn room, like everywhere else, was a low-quality object with many impurities.
It was about as reflective as a good silver tray. But even that blurriness couldn’t hide my beauty.
“Oh, I like it. Not bad.”
Speaking of my beauty, it is dazzling and noble enough to be forgiven for any trouble I might cause.
The reason people get angry at me but then stop talking when they see my face must be because of this beauty.
Being so dazzling as to leave one speechless is a sin, if it is a sin.
[It’s not because of your beauty, it’s because of your rotten personality….]
[Hey.]
[Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who is the blond Spirit Mage with the foulest personality of them all?]
[You know, if a person has no hair, they’re called bald, but what do you call a wolf with no fur?]
[Sigh, what would a mere mirror know. You are beautiful again today, Master.]
Rai quickly changed his attitude.
He put on a sly act, pretending to be a loyal pet by wagging his large tail.
Lately, he’s been getting cocky because I’ve been letting things slide on account of Ash.
I might have to teach him soon that even a handsome wolf looks no different from a sick chicken if you shave off all its fur.
I could just tell everyone around that I had to shave it because of a skin disease.
The more seriously I considered it, the more Rai’s pupils trembled.
[No! My fur is my best feature!]
[What was that? I can’t hear you over my rotten personality.]
After a good laugh at my pleasant fantasy, I turned back to Akia. A smile still filled her face.