Chapter 21

The bell announcing a customer rang out, and reflexively, I called, 「Welcome」 in a cheerful voice. But the sight of the customer looking around the shop with curiosity felt strangely out of place.

It was already winter, so there was nothing unusual about someone coming in from outside wearing a thick coat. But the coat was made from high-quality fabric with elegant tailoring, the sort of thing wholly unsuited to a tiny commoner’s shop like this. This was rather unusual.

(Rather than a noble… He’s more like… a wealthy magnate, maybe?)

Perhaps he had companions outside, but there were no guards in sight, and the only one who entered was a single gentleman in an expensive-looking coat. Nobles did not move around alone, so he was probably a rich commoner. …Well, putting a certain person who stationed guards at the entrance and tried to get alone underground with a commoner in a workshop aside for now.

And by now, looking at the prediction lines of customers who entered the shop had become something like a habit for me.

(Anger and dissatisfaction in his future… what is this person going to do?)

Judging from those two translucent colors, I could tell something unpleasant was likely about to happen. But there was no way I could give advice to someone when I didn’t even know the situation.

「Excuse me. This appears to be an apothecary, but is this the place where they say there’s a famous fortune teller?」

「We only provide consultations regarding events to occur today from customers who purchase our products.」

No matter how many times I said it, I was not a fortune teller. Even after I started selling medicine to the knights, and knights who had learned of the effects came to buy medicine personally and exclaimed, 「I thought this was a fortune-telling shop, but they sell medicine too!?」, that was absolutely not the case. I was an apothecary.

「Hm. Then… do you have medicine to help with meals?」

「Yes. I’ll bring it right away.」

The wealthy and nobles often had elaborate meals at banquets, so stomach medicine with digestive effects was essential. I immediately took the medicine from the shelf, placed it on the counter, and told him the price.

「Thirty doses, 1000 bel. Please take it before meals.」

「Hm, cheap. Then… perhaps now you can tell me whether my business negotiation afterward will succeed.」

After accepting payment, I looked above the man’s head once more. As expected, the colors were not favorable.

「…It may not go very well. I don’t understand business matters, but as things stand now, I don’t think this will end in a good result.」

「…That’s unpleasant to hear, but very well. One could also say there’s value in overturning a fortune.」

The man twisted his face unpleasantly as the colors of anger and dissatisfaction stained only the roots of their lines, but after taking the medicine, he quickly left. I could only honestly say what I predicted from what I saw, so there was nothing else I could do.

The man had shown anger and dissatisfaction at my words, but the translucent portions of those colors still stretched long, meaning whatever would become visible enough to appear in the prediction lines had not happened yet. He didn’t seem inclined to change his approach, so perhaps that negotiation of his would fail. Well, it had nothing to do with me anymore.

The day’s work ended safely, and just as I had finished shopping and was about to prepare dinner, Hector arrived. I felt like I had become rather accustomed to the orange joy stretching above his head the moment our eyes met. …Though it still made me a little embarrassed.

But there were still three days left until Forest Day, the shop’s regular holiday. We hadn’t made any plans for today, so perhaps something urgent had happened.

「What brings you here so suddenly?」

「It’s nothing important… were you busy?」

「No, not particularly.」

「I see, that’s good. …Sorry, actually, I just wanted to see your face.」

If he had said it with his usual fake smile, I could have laughed it off. But he said it while narrowing his eyes affectionately, and I had to look away. To put it bluntly, it was bad for my heart.

Emotions show on his face more clearly when he is exhausted, I think. And certainly, even now, a moss-colored fatigue line stretched above his head.

「I can see the color of fatigue. Would you like to rest a little?」

「Ah, thanks. Then I’ll intrude for a while.」

Recently, the chair in the shop had practically become Hector’s designated seat. Sitting there, he rested his cheek against his hand and let out a small sigh. He really must have been exhausted. Every movement he made somehow looked seductive, and I found myself thinking ominously that if he appeared before the maidens of the town in this state, they’d devour him whole.

「…Are you alright?」

I handed him herbal tea enhanced with recovery magic. Since he already knew I was a mage, there was no need to hide it anymore, and before I realized it, I had started using magic freely around him. Familiarity was a frightening thing.

「I’m alright. …Ah, your tea really is calming after all. Thank you.」

「You’re welcome.」

Taking the seat across from him, I absentmindedly watched Hector. Was it because he was handsome that his languid state carried such strange allure? From my perspective, it only made me worry. Like how, if someone found him like this, those maidens he called butterflies might swarm and consume him. Or what exactly he had been doing to become so exhausted.

「Did something happen?」

「Ah, when I went to the royal capital, a lot happened… but yeah, there was something good too. I can’t talk about it yet, though.」

The royal capital was about three hours away by horse from here. Even the round trip alone sounded tiring, but perhaps something mentally exhausting had happened there.

The instant he said 「a lot」 deep navy disgust had briefly seeped out before disappearing, so it was probably something involving women. This person truly seemed to have trouble no matter where he went.

「Well, if something good happened, then that’s good, right?」

「Yeah. I thought it’d be impossible by now, so I’m happy. …It’s thanks to you, Cyril-san.」

As he said that, he waved his right hand. I see, because he could hold a sword again, there were things he could do now. If so, then that was wonderful.

My medicine helps someone. And having them be happy about it. For someone who makes medicine, there was probably nothing more gratifying than that.

「And this is a souvenir from the royal capital…」

「Eh, isn’t this a luxury item…!?」

He pulled out a tin of cookies from a famous luxury confectionery shop in the royal capital, and I nearly lost my composure. It was priced far beyond what an ordinary commoner would even consider buying.

The contents were supposedly cookies, yet the tin itself looked like a jewel box, beautifully crafted. It was the kind of thing you’d want to reuse as a container for trinkets after finishing the contents.

「Yeah. Well… Ky helped me choose it, so it should be safe.」

「Ah, you’re still worried about that?」

「Well, I can’t exactly let you eat poison, can I?」

It seemed the cookies he had brought before that contained insecticide still haunted him. I didn’t mind it, but he lamented, 「Even if I see something I think you’d like, I can’t casually buy it anymore.」 …Really, he didn’t have to try so hard with gifts.

「…Um, is it really alright for me to accept this?」

「Of course. It’s a souvenir for you.」

「Thank you very much. Then I’ll gratefully accept it.」

I was honestly happy about this, so I would savor it carefully. It felt too wasteful to even open, and for a moment I almost wanted to display it for a while first. No, I knew there was no point if I didn’t eat it. Still, I was simply happy.

「I want to give you something in return… is there anything you want?」

「What I want…」

The moment I saw the color of love shoot upward, I could more or less guess what he had thought of. Seeing me glance upward, Hector covered his face with his hand. Rose-colored embarrassment surged upward rapidly.

「…Sorry, that’s, um, not what I meant. It just slipped out.」

「…Right.」

Being able to see someone’s feelings, and them knowing those feelings were visible, really was troublesome. We both felt embarrassed, and the atmosphere became slightly awkward.

「Um, rather than a return gift… would you spend Moon-Star Night with me next week?」

The grand annual event, the Moon and Star Festival, was a national holiday in this country. It was the day when the stars and moon shone brightest all year, beginning on the night of Earth Day next week and lasting until the night of Sun Day.

People still worked until the evening of Earth Day, and festival stalls would open, but from that night until the following night, work was forbidden in principle. It was customary to spend the time leisurely with important people such as family or friends. …And of course, lovers commonly spent the day together.

「…Alright. If you don’t mind, I can cook as well.」

「Really…!?」

When Hector suddenly lifted his face and I saw how genuinely delighted he was, I couldn’t help smiling wryly. Earlier, long lines of anxiety had stretched above him, but now I could see nothing but joy. …It was because he reacted like this that I couldn’t refuse him.

I usually spent it with Jean and his family, so I would need to let them know. If I told them I was spending it with an important friend, they would surely send me off with smiles.

「I’ll help prepare the meal too. I’m reasonably capable, you know.」

「Then I’ll leave it to you. It’d help if you came in the evening.」

「Yeah. Leave it to me, I’ll come running.」

「…Please make sure no one notices, alright?」

If Hector ran through town, he would stand out. Especially during the Moon-Star Festival. People would undoubtedly pay attention, assuming the man notorious for his many romances was hurrying to the side of some beloved woman. Since he actually was coming to see me, it wasn’t entirely wrong, but our relationship differed from what people would imagine, and I didn’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings. …We weren’t lovers, and I definitely didn’t want jealous women storming in because they got the wrong idea.

「It’s alright. I absolutely won’t let the butterfly ladies spot me, I promise. I’ll definitely come.」

Hector looked so happy that seeing him lifted my own spirits too. I truly thought we would spend a wonderful Moon-Star Festival together.

Three days later, on Forest Day, the apothecary’s regular holiday.

The only person who ever visited early in the morning on my days off was Hector. So that day, without even checking, I removed the bar from the back door assuming it had to be him.

The moment I opened the door and found several unfamiliar people dressed entirely in black standing there, I froze in shock.

「White hair and red eyes, this is the girl.」

「Good. Get her.」

「…!!」

The cloth forced against my mouth smelled of medicine. It was a drug that induced forced sleep, a so-called anesthetic. Even with my strong resistance to medicine, if a stronger man restrained me and forced me to inhale it for even a minute, I would lose consciousness. …Though while an ordinary person would pass out within seconds, I could at least resist for about a minute.

「Why isn’t she falling asleep from this!?」

I could hear their panicked voices, but there was no way I could continue resisting forever, and eventually my consciousness faded away.