Ch. 282
‘If I go to the Dark Elf village… they say they only prophesy when necessary, so would that even work? There are a few things I’m curious about.’
‘What’s the weather like tomorrow? Can I kill Rovenin? My financial luck is the best on the continent, right? Should I just keep going down the path I’m on? I’m going my own fucking way.’
Asking things like that would probably just get me kicked out.
I was a person with many questions in this life.
“Do you understand? Young Master, do not forget the agreement.”
Leaning against the cart and talking with Zekarda, I turned my gaze back toward Ash at the sound of the serious voice.
Rovenin had been getting all sorts of warnings for a while now.
“He’s like an envoy of the Dark Elves. You must never harm him.”
There’s someone here you’ve enslaved, though.
“If being friendly is too much to ask, then don’t hit him first. Even if he hits you, just think, ‘I must have done something to anger him,’ and endure it unconditionally. It’ll most likely be your fault. Understood?”
Nod.
“It’s a fact that you did something to deserve being beaten to death. You must keep that in mind.”
I knew that in their relationship, Ash was strangely like a parent… but at this rate, was this not middle school, but kindergarten?
Rovenin was the type who needed every obvious thing spelled out for him.
“Ash? When are we leaving? I want to be back in the capital before lunch.”
“Just a moment. Geenie, I just need to say a few more things.”
Surprising that he still had more warnings to give.
Then again, there was no way it would be an easy task for Ash to send Zekarda and Rovenin off by themselves, as they would surely be at each other’s throats the moment the stage was set.
If it weren’t for me, he would probably want to follow them and break them apart.
Though it was strange that leaving me alone was more worrying than letting two wild beasts loose in a slave market.
“Hey, what’s your relationship with that blurry human?”
Zekarda, who had been standing next to me with his arms crossed, brought his face close and asked in a low voice.
“I get that question a lot. What does it look like?”
“Hmm… One of your slaves? A cherished slave, perhaps.”
“Half right.”
“No, you said he was a noble, so he can’t be a slave.”
I took a moment to ponder with Zekarda.
What was our relationship?
More than friends, less than lovers, as they say. We kiss sometimes and I grope him one-sidedly, but we’re not dating.
I think Ash might have officially asked me to date him… but I’m not interested.
I don’t know what’s so great about dating, and I can already grope him and do as I please.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re lovers… but it is amusing how that human gets all flustered whenever I get close to you.”
“Oh, me too.”
“…You get told you’re peculiar often, don’t you?”
“Huhu, isn’t it so cute how he suffers because he likes me?”
“I doubt that’s the case, but I know for sure that I shouldn’t like you.”
Do I seem like a bit of a pervert even to a Dark Elf?
[You’d be lucky if it was just a bit.]
[Wanna get punished by your perverted master?]
[Gyaah, you’ll be gentle, right?]
[…What am I supposed to do if you’re a pervert too.]
It was a thought I often had, but badmouthing Rai was sometimes like spitting in the air.
They say the Ancient Spirit Summoning Circle calls forth a Spirit with a similar soul.
I wish someone would tell me this was also a flawed hypothesis…
“What is it?”
“…Nothing. I’m afraid to ask.”
I didn’t want to ask and get it confirmed by a Dark Elf.
After sending Zekarda and Rovenin off, the road back to the capital was extremely peaceful.
Lying in the horse-drawn cart and looking up at the sky, I felt as leisurely as if I were out for a walk.
Unlike my cheerful self, Ash had been quiet for a while.
I turned over and looked at the back of Ash’s head as he drove the horse.
It was, to anyone’s eyes, the back of a head full of worry.
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you go with them?”
I propped my chin on my hand and tossed out the words, and a quiet reply came back.
“Nothing would change even if I went with them. And I’m more worried about leaving you alone.”
“Why? Because I look weak?”
“I wish it were a worry born from weakness….”
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The fact that the sound of a horse’s hooves could change depending on who was driving it was something I first learned because of Ash.
Ash was strangely popular with animals, and any beast would become docile once he petted it.
It’s a secret that I think I know how those beasts feel.
“I’m more worried about Mr. Zekarda than the Young Master.”
“Birds of a feather flock together, is that it?”
He definitely doesn’t think Rovenin will die at Zekarda’s hands.
“More than that… the Young Master has a side to him that defies common sense, so no matter how much I tell him, it’s not enough. He’s someone who isn’t interested in what he’s doing in the first place….”
“Hmm, Zekarda won’t be coming back as a corpse, will he? I like that guy.”
“…Let’s pray that doesn’t happen.”
It’s so peaceful with just the two of us.
How long has it been since Rovenin wasn’t nearby? I hummed a little tune with my chin in my hand.
It was the song of a moonlit night that I had once sung with Ash.
“Ash? Isn’t it nice to be alone together after so long?”
“It is. It hasn’t actually been that long, but… it feels that way.”
“I like it best when it’s just the two of us.”
[What about me! Master! Me!]
[You’re, well, like air.]
I glanced at Rai, who was transformed into a wolf and acting as my footrest, then looked toward Ash, finding his lack of response strange.
I could see him blushing, even from behind.
He was facing forward to drive the horse, but there was no way to miss it when the tips of his ears turned that red.
No matter how much you train your body, you can’t stop yourself from blushing.
[He’s so cute.]
[Compared to Undine?]
[Shut up, it’s Undine! Undine is the best in the world!]
[Poor Ash….]
[Aren’t you going to ask who I’d pick between you and Ash?]
[Um… I think I’d feel pathetic, so I won’t ask!]
I can really feel our similar souls now, can’t I? Your skill at evading the truth is quite something.
After lazing around a bit more, I sat up. Then I opened the needlessly large chest and started packing only the essentials from the items inside.
The Polymorph Earring, the Veiled Mirror, and various manuals.
I was moving only what I needed into my bag when I opened the earring box because I couldn’t recall what it looked like. This was the first time I was properly examining it.
“Hmm… Ash?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever had your ears pierced?”
“I have not.”
Now that I looked, the earring I bought was the type that required pierced ears.
I fiddled with my plump, unpierced earlobe and looked at Ash’s ear.
It was unpierced, just like mine.
Nobles, regardless of age or gender, tended to get them pierced for adornment, but putting me aside, it seemed Ash also had little interest in accessories.
“When we get back to the inn, will you pierce my ears for me?”
“…When you asked if I’d ever had them pierced, were you talking about someone else’s ears?”
“Yeah.”
It didn’t seem like a very difficult request, but Ash didn’t answer after that.
He fell into a silence even deeper than before, avoiding my gaze by staring intently ahead.
“Ash?”
“…”
“What’s wrong? You don’t want to help?”
He was even intentionally pretending not to hear me.
Surely he wasn’t scared of piercing an ear. It wouldn’t even bleed that much, so what was the problem?
[Rai, do you know?]
[I wonder. Ash is delicate for a human male. Maybe something’s bothering him?]
[Are you saying I’m not delicate?]
[Yes.]
[You know me well. So what’s bothering him!]
[If I knew that, I’d be a human! I’m metal! Metal!]
My and Rai’s indelicate minds couldn’t find an answer, and we had to listen to nothing but the sound of horse hooves and wheels rolling on the dirt path until we reached the capital.
“I’ll go return the horse, so you should rest.”
Ash, who dropped me off in front of the inn, was clearly trying to escape.
The first piece of evidence was that he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“What about my ear?”
“I’m going to stop by the Magic Tower to see if there’s any word from Lox, so it’ll take some time for me to get back.”
“You’re really not going to pierce it for me?”
“Should I buy some chicken skewers on my way back?”
“Sure.”
His changing the subject was the second piece of evidence, but it wasn’t more important than chicken skewers.
I even waved as I cheerfully saw him off, then headed to my room, feeling unburdened.
It was strange to feel like I was returning after a long time when I’d only been away for a day.
As I strode down the inn’s hallway, Rai walked closely beside me like a large, loyal dog.
[Rai, the door.]
I had definitely received a room key when I checked in, but I had never once used it.
The door would open by itself if I just stood in front of it and tilted my head.
I casually used Rai to open the door and stepped into the room, when something crinkled under my foot.
Looking down, I saw a note that seemed to have been slipped under the door.
「The old book you entrusted to us has been repaired.」
I picked it up and checked the back, which stated which shop had sent it.
Right, I had requested the restoration of the book I brought out of the dungeon.
They said it would take a few months, so when I asked how much it would cost, the time suddenly shortened to ten days, making me think that there’s nothing like the power of money…
“Has it been that long already?”
I placed the note on the table and took off my hood and bag, tossing them aside.
The old book wasn’t what was important right now. It was the Veiled Mirror.
To buy this, I had been uncharacteristically diligent.
I had to go to the Information Guild several times, almost got caught by Ash and couldn’t go, and was half-forced to take Rovenin with me.
Normally, I would have given up long ago and achieved a mental victory by telling myself I didn’t need a mirror anyway.
But I couldn’t do that this time.
I took the Veiled Mirror and climbed onto the bed.
The mirror, belying its name, did not reflect me, and I couldn’t help the slight tension in my hand as I fiddled with it.