Lucia Worries

The one who answered Sir Celes’s question wasn’t His Highness, but Eric, “The Cristallo Sacro aren’t plants, or minerals. While they’re made of crystal, it seems like they’re also alive. They birth monsters as fruit, after all. So we think that by ‘drop’ it means a crystal, but those are pretty normal, right? If it’s specifically from the Cristallo Sacro themselves, I think it might be a shard from them, but we won’t know unless we collect one ourselves.”

Toying with the crystal on his chest, Eric mumbled, “Doesn’t it just make you want to study them? When this is all over, I’m gonna start experimenting with the Cristallo Sacro. It’s never been done before, since they’re the source of the monsters.”

“We’ve gotta figure out how to send Her Sacredness home first, Sir Chief-Researcher of the Academy,” Sir Gaius chuckled.

“A bear like you could never understand the depths of science!”

“Forget science, we need to do what we can right now, brat!”

Eric and Sir Gaius were bickering like they always did. And Lord Reynard was off to the side, looking slightly jealous. He really loves his brother.

“Anyway, we’d been planning while you two weren’t here, but what we’re gonna do is examine the Cristallo Sacro of Foristarn for that drop thing. We can’t really do anything else right now.”

“Unlike Kyriest, Foristarn and Maynard are in foreign countries. If we don’t investigate them now, it will be hard to get back to do it again.”

Everyone was ready to search for a way to send her home.

“Miss Maria, let’s definitely find that ‘Drop of the Cristallo Sacro.’” When I said that to try to cheer her up, she finally smiled. I need to do my best so her smile doesn’t disappear! Gripping my fist, I vowed to myself.

◆ ◆ ◆

“I’m really so sorry, Lucia. I’m glad you and Celes are okay. Are you mad at me? I don’t know why I did that...”

Separating from the men, Miss Maria, Shiro, and I got into our tent, and she apologized again.

“Of course I’m not mad at you. It wasn’t your fault. The ground was just soft. I’d been told that it was back in Admina, so it was partially my fault for forgetting. I’m sorry too, Miss Maria. I made you worry.”

“I really, really worried. I was miserable,” she said, teary-eyed.

“Sir Celes saved me, but we had nothing with us, so it took a while to get back to you all. We sent letters ahead, but it seems that we beat them to you.”

“Letters? Nope, we didn’t get any. Did you write one?”

“No, Sir Celes wrote them to the Commander,” I said, tilting my head.

We’d worked so hard to send them, but it turned out they weren’t needed after all. I was slightly disappointed, but it was more important that I was back with her now.

“I’m really so glad we can talk like this again. I have so many things I wanted to talk to you about. So many that I can’t even think of one.”

Giving me an embarrassed smile, she pressed her face against Shiro in her arms.

“Kyuu?”

“Did His Highness explain everything right after it happened?”

“Ed? Yeah, after we searched for you, he got us all together to talk about it. I panicked. Up until then, Eri-kun and Gaius and Reynard had all been working hard to protect me from him. It was amazing when Gaius yelled at Fer and Ed. He might be old, and a bear, but he was kind of cool. Eri-kun got mad too. It was like they’d always fussed over me, just like guys did at home, but it was all just to get in my good books. I’m the ‘Sacred Maiden,’ after all. So... So it was the first time they’d all been worried for me.”

Oh, Sir Gaius protected Miss Maria! He really is someone you can rely on!

Clapping my hands together, I said, “He’s really dependable, isn’t he!”

“Yeah. He’s kinda like a dad. Kinda.”

“I know exactly what you mean!”

“Since we’re on the subject of reliable guys, how was Celes? He jumped in right after you when you fell. He was so frantic... Lucia?”

Sir Celes... When she said his name, I got a bit embarrassed. I mean, we’re...um... We’re lovers now, huh?

Seeing my reaction, Miss Maria exclaimed, “Wait, why did you go red? Ah, Celes did something, didn’t he!”

“No, um...”

“Something had to have happened! He didn’t do anything you didn’t want to do, did he!?”

“Not really... I mean, wait, um...”

“Lucia!?”

“Kyuu! Kyuwa-kyuu!”

After that, Miss Maria made me tell her everything about what happened.

Lucia and Maria Talk About Love

“Oh, so that’s what he did. That son of a— Getting ahead while I wasn’t around... What’s he letting loose for?” she murmured.

When I told her that he had confessed to me, Miss Maria was very clearly upset. Did that mean...Miss Maria really did love Sir Celes?

“Miss Maria...”

Realizing what I was thinking, she crossed both her hands in front of her. “Okay, wait, stop. I don’t like Celes like that! His face might be my type, but I’m not so desperate that I’d go for someone my friend liked! It was obvious he loved you, so there’s not gonna be any illicit feelings here!”

“Really!?”

“Kyuuu!” Shiro frantically flapped his way over to me, having fallen off Miss Maria when she folded her arms.

Shiro squeaked a protest, “Kyuwa! Kyukyu-kyuu!”

“Wah, I’m sorry, Shiro! Don’t get mad.” Miss Maria laughed, hugging him again. “I didn’t mean to toss you.”

“Kyuuuu...”

They’d gotten really close while I was gone.

“Has Shiro been okay, even without my Soap?” I asked.

“Hm? Ah, that’s right. He’s a monster, huh. I keep forgetting. We got told off in Vatis about him, but it all worked out. He’s been absolutely fine without it.”

“Kyuwah~”

Thank goodness they didn’t have any real problems. That meant that he didn’t need my Soap at all.

As I thought that, Miss Maria spoke up again, “So...what’d you guys do?”

“Do?”

“Do — like actions! You love each other, right? Did you at least kiss or something?”

“K-Kiss...!?” I could feel my face turn bright red.

“Oho, you’re blushing! So something did happen!”

I’m not telling! I’m not telling her anything about that! I shook my head hard. Embarrassing memories were popping back up. So embarrassing that I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide! While I was sitting there suffering, Miss Maria was just smiling away, staring at me. Her obsidian eyes were sparkling.

“It... It’s a secret,” I stammered.

“Ah, really? Oh no, it’s always been a dream of mine to talk with a friend about romance like this. Come on, please, can you just tell me a bit? It won’t hurt!”

“It will hurt! Mentally!”

She thrust her hand out towards me saying, “Shiro will make it better. Here, hold him!”

“The only thing he’ll make better is my mana!”

“Kyu!”

She clung to my arm, getting her face close to mine. It was hard to say no when she was giving me the puppy dog look!

“Please? Pleeeeeease, Lucia? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?”

Unable to resist her cute begging pose, I had to give up.

“Huh, so he was surprisingly forceful! I kinda called it. I mean, any straightlaced guy’d end up bursting like that after it being one-sided for so long. Plus, I wasn’t there to get in the way.”

After I told her everything that had happened since we’d gotten together and met back up with the rest, Miss Maria nodded happily as she sipped her tea.

“Um...”

“Tch, it was so irritating. It would look like he was going for it, but then he’d wimp out at the end. And then when I’d try to goad him into doing something, he’d end up missing it completely.”

She started yelling about him getting physical too quickly, swinging her fists around.

“It’d been a year between first meeting you and then finding you again, plus spending a few months at the castle trying to get chummy — and you’re just now getting together? Too long! It took way too long! It would’ve taken even longer without that accident! I swear, you would’ve never taken the first step, so it had to be him!”

Um...I think everyone else can hear you, so please... Please be quiet... I was at my limit, so I tried asking about her love life instead, “Miss Maria, do you have any love stories?”

“Changing the subject, huh? Whatever. I was super popular. I never hit it off with girls because of my looks and personality, but I always had lots of guys around me. I would always choose one as a boyfriend.”

“Did you love them?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’d start dating them when they told me they liked me. I always was the one to make them say it, of course... It was fun. Kind of like a game.” Pursing her lips, she tilted her head to the side. Shiny black hair, a small, delicate body that made you want to protect her, and big obsidian eyes, framed by long eyelashes. She was beautiful. Of course any guy would end up liking her. “So I’m a bit jealous of romances like the one you have. I wanna have one like that someday.”

“Miss Maria, what about the prince?”

“Forget about me!”

She suddenly cut the conversation once I mentioned the prince. So there was a gap between them now. On our way to our campsite, Miss Maria hadn’t sat in the carriage with His Highness, but instead sat on the coachman’s stand with Lord Reynard, who had taken over for Commander Agliardi. The prince looked as if he’d been watching her from afar, too.

“So anyway, you need to end up happy!”

“You need to end up happy too, Miss Maria!”

“Of course I will. There’s no way someone as good as me would get stuck in an unhappy marriage!”

The two of us looked at each other, laughing.