“Why?”
“...What do you mean, why?”
“Why are you looking for me?”
“Huh?”
Cheion roughly brushed back his disheveled hair and sighed. Was that even a question?
“You went outside knowing this place is affected by the Black Forest! Are you out of your mind?!”
“So what does that have to do with you?”
“What do you mean? Of course—”
Of course... of course...?
“.....”
Cheion suddenly fell silent and pressed his lips together. Now that he was being asked directly, he found himself with nothing to say.
“Exactly.”
Why is he being so frantic?
“Hey, you!”
Soon, an inexplicable sense of injustice welled up inside him. Cheion shot her a sharp glare.
Haven’t we gotten pretty close by now? Do you know how many cups of tea I’ve had here?
So what, we’re not even the kind of people who can worry about each other? Is that how it is?
“Wow, that’s really too much.”
As his thoughts piled up, the sense of unfairness only deepened. Before he knew it, he was already sulking.
Are you Julia? Why are you pouting like that?
Ceres shook her head.
How annoying. He’s sulking like a child at that age, and yet it still suits him somehow.
“Sit. I’ll give you some tea.”
“...Tea?
“Yes.”
Well, to be honest, I’m a little grateful.
The reason Cheion had been looking for her was obvious. Though she knew that, she pretended not to out of a vague sense of awkwardness.
“...For free?”
“If you don’t want it, forget it.”
“No, I’ll have it!”
As if he had never been sulking at all, Cheion immediately brightened up with a smile that was unexpectedly charming.
“Make it sweet. With lots of honey!”
“......”
Isn’t it strange? He can be so bothersome, but he’s not someone you can really hate.
Besides...
For some reason, looking at him kept bringing someone else to mind. Was it because they were both Masters of the Magic Tower? Or were all Tower Masters naturally that bright?
Arti used to have a beautiful smile too.
He knew very well how pretty he was, so he would always smile with his eyes just like him. Kainel used to find that rather irritating.
“Drink.”
“Okay.”
Ceres watched Cheion as he sipped the tea, his eyes curving from the sweetness of the honey.
Sensing her gaze, Cheion tilted his head.
“Why?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering why you weren’t asking.”
“Asking what?”
“The protection stone.”
She had expected that to be the first thing he would ask about as soon as he arrived. She even prepared an excuse in advance.
I’ll just say I found it on the street.
That should be believable enough, right? If she said she found it on the street, what could he possibly do about it?
She already claimed she lost a mana stone on the street, so there was no reason she couldn’t have picked up a protection stone there as well.
“If I ask, will you answer me?”
“Yes.”
“Without lying?”
“No.”
“......”
For a second, Cheion’s expression turned blank. What was with that confidence?
“Ha.”
That, in itself, was a talent. He chuckled quietly and shook his head.
“Then I won’t ask.”
It would be ridiculous to keep pressing when she had no intention of telling the truth, wouldn’t it?
“But can you answer just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Is there a mage among the people you’re close to?”
“You.”
“.....”
At Ceres’s indifferent gesture pointing toward him, Cheion’s eyes widened. He quickly smoothed the corners of his lips that kept trying to curl upward.
“Not me.”
“...There was. A long time ago.”
“Who? Are they still affiliated with the Magic Tower?”
“They’re not here anymore.”
“Huh?”
“They’re dead.”
“Ah...”
The hand that had been lingering near his lips slowly dropped.
The blue stone... and the protection stone... did she get them from that person?
There was so much Cheion wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut.
Ceres’s expression when she spoke of the dead was calmer than ever. That very calmness stopped him from saying anything further.
It felt like a barrier, quietly warning him not to touch what lay beneath.
He still had to repay the value of the protection stone he obtained. But for now, it seemed best to remain silent.
“It’s over there!”
“Hurry!”
“Someone from the Ellesia family is here!”
As he broke into a cold sweat in the midst of the awkward silence, the outside of the shop grew noisy.
When he glanced out, he saw crowds of people rushing urgently in one direction, many of them visibly injured.
“Looks like they’ve finally arrived.”
“...The Ellesia family?”
“Yes.”
Although things had been resolved quickly, the location alone meant there were still plenty of people injured from the monster attack.
Every healer in the capital came out to tend to the wounded, and only just now did the Ellesia family finally show up.
“They really do take their time.”
Clicking his tongue, Cheion watched with clear displeasure. While everyone else had been working themselves to the bone, the Ellesia family only made their appearance now. It was obvious he didn’t think much of them.
“And they take the largest share of state funding, too.”
“Really? Wouldn’t that just mean they’re more skilled?”
“What’s the point of skill? To ordinary people, it doesn’t mean a thing.”
“......”
“They’re nothing but money-grubbing—”
Thwack!
“Ah!”
In the middle of his complaint, something struck his forehead.
“...Why did I just get hit?!”
“Ah, sorry. That just... slipped out.”
It was true. The moment he insulted the Ellesia family, her hand moved before she realized it.
Sorry. That was instinct.
“F*ck.”
“...Hey, I’m the one who got hit. Why are you the one swearing?”
“I don’t know. It’s irritating.”
Ceres frowned as she looked down at the hand that had just struck him. What did it matter to her if the Ellesia family was being insulted or not?
This really is a problem.
It was irritating, the way it kept pricking at her nerves.
Damn it... why did it bother her this much?
She abruptly rose to her feet.
“Ceres? Where are you going?”
“...To see just how much of a mess it is.”
“What?”
That’s right. She would see for herself just how bad things really were.
***
“Next.”
“E-excuse me... Healer, my mother still seems to be having trouble breathing...”
“That’s due to her age. The treatment is finished. Can’t you see all the people waiting behind you?”
“But...”
“Next!”
At the healer’s irritated shout, the man supporting his elderly mother quietly stepped away. Her breathing came out ragged, as if even taking a step was a struggle.
A long line had formed in front of the makeshift clinic, filled with people waiting their turn. The place was crowded with those injured in the aftermath of the Black Forest.
“Next.”
Among them, one place drew the largest crowd of all. It was where the healers from the Ellesia family were stationed.
Known for their exceptional skill and rarely seen in public, they were the ones everyone wanted. Even in pain, people willingly endured the long wait just for a chance to be treated by them.
“Healer, how is my child?”
“......”
“He’ll be alright, won’t he? Please...”
The man’s face was filled with anxiety as he looked at his child, whose fingertips had turned black and lifeless. It had only been a small splash of Bakura’s venom, yet it had already come to this.
He’ll still be able to use his hand... right?
“We’ll have to amputate up to the wrist.”
“...What?”
“The necrosis has already progressed too far.”
“N-necrosis? Do... do we have to do it right now?”
“Yes.”
“I-isn’t there any other way?”
At those words, the man’s face turned pale. Countless thoughts rushed through his mind in an instant.
His child was still so young. Was he meant to live the rest of his life without a hand? And he had to decide that right now?
And not just the blackened fingertips... but the wrist as well?
“Healer, is there really no other—”
“Next.”
“...What?”
“Next patient.”
“W-wait, just a moment. The treatment isn’t even finished yet!”
“If you don’t like my method, go elsewhere.”
“What do you mean?! I only needed a moment to think! Please!”
“Next!”
Because of that brief hesitation, the man was forced out without receiving any treatment at all.
He stared down at the child in his arms, his expression hollow. He wanted to beg, to cling to them for help, but the healer no longer spared him a glance. No words would come.
With his eyes reddening, the man tightened his hold on the child.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
The healer, who hadn’t bothered to look at the departing patient, suddenly groaned.
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