Senpensekai no Madoushoshi

In the morning...

I woke up with my own tremor.

"... you're too cold..."

It seems to be warming up, albeit little by little, in the Eileys story. But I still don't have that feeling. I still need Carol's warmth.

After combing my hair and getting myself together, I came to the dining room on the first floor. Introduced to the father of Iries on the first day here in Sorletta Ritta, this inn is spacious and beautiful for the price.

There are no loud customers to make noise about at night, and no troublesome guys to call out to. If I dare to raise my dissatisfaction, is the fireplace in the bedroom a little weak?

"Well, let's just say we leave tomorrow, shall we?

"Fine, but you're really okay, Kutuna? It was a pretty deep wound, wasn't it?

"Oh, yeah. Even if you can't do it and you're not in such a hurry, Auschnell won't run away, will he?

A trio of adventurers have been talking about us for a long time now.

I don't see many brown-skinned adventurers in this city. If that were to be two out of three and meet almost every morning, I would remember my face naturally.

But apparently, they're headed to Auschnell. Don't make the inn any quieter now.

"... oh, good morning"

As I watched them from a distance while the breakfast was being carried, I saw eye to eye with the woman who put the robe together. They greeted me with a meeting, so I return the greeting, too.

"Good Morning"

But I'm dating them to that extent. We don't know each other's names, we don't know where they're from, we don't know how old they are.

After a while breakfast came and I started eating it.

When I moved my mouth silently by myself and finished eating about enough, there was no one in the dining room but me already.

I heard that today was the day of discharge, but I was reluctant to hear when it was today.

So after dinner, I headed to the hospital for a little while.

But apparently it was early, and Iris and Saluena weren't here yet when I got to the hospital room.

"I'm going to go through the discharge process first."

That's what Rose, who had already done his duty, said and left the hospital room.

Then inevitably the room will have me and......

"Hello, Toslin."

Be just Carol.

"Oh, did you sleep well yesterday?

"Mm-hmm, not really. The bed here is too soft. What about you?"

"I thought it was too cold to freeze"

"Well, it's still cold."

Carol is sitting on the bed, shaking her legs. I feel like it's been a long time since I've seen Carol wrapped up in adventurer gear that isn't a room outfit. They say it's only been a few days actually.

"... I'll give it to you while I can"

"Huh?"

If you get discharged, I don't know when we'll be alone next. I thought so. I took the little box out of the pouch I put on my hips.

In the small box, there are two pendants. It's all in one piece with a small ruby pendant top on the silver chain.

I took one of them and tried to put it on Carol's neck. But...

"Yes, I need it. No!!

Carol backed off and refused.

"Right. But I want to give it to you."

"Hey, what the hell!? Nothing to celebrate the discharge..."

"It's not. That's just an excuse. You could have triggered anything."

The first thing to be rejected is the usual. Even at the time of the attack. I can say it's better if they just didn't knock me down.

"Hey, why? Why would you... want to give it to Atashi?

"I ask the other way around, why don't you like it? That much of a gift from me, annoying?

"Chi, no!! That's not true... but..."

Carol looked like she was crying, like she was doing yesterday. I didn't ask why then, but not now. We just need to let them take this at all costs.

"Then why? What are you so disappointed in?"

"... because... I'm scared, because..."

An unexpected word popped out of Carol's mouth.

"Scared? What do you mean?

When I hear it, Carol drops her gaze. Then the ears, which usually stand pinned, also drool.

"If I receive something from someone... it will become the person's... appearance..."

Carol's words talking to Potty Potty interrupted are hard to hear. I couldn't pick up all the words, but I guess that's roughly what happens if we connect them.

"... you..."

"So, because!! Because it is!! That's what happens!! Atashi, I don't know when we'll be apart!!

……

"D, even when I fought the dragon, Toslin... I thought I was dead... And before this, you were... dying, weren't you? Isn't that right?

I snort at Carol's questioning words.

"Yes, but you have nothing to do with accepting things."

"Wow, I don't know...... I've just been lucky so far, and the next thing I know... Toslin could be dead..."

"Come on, don't say anything bad about it"

"Because... because..."

Carol beckons like a child. No... Was this guy just a kid?

In front of the Iries, I show them stretched back, and I don't show them where I'm trying and crying. Only in front of me, only when you two are together, this guy exposes himself to vegetables.

"Think the other way. You and I are still together because you received a message from me. Saluena told you before. He said the pinkies were tied with threads on the edges and connected to each other. Doesn't giving gifts make you fat?

"But..."

"But it's not. Number one, that jinx, who told you that?

"... I don't know. Someone I don't know. Somewhere in the dining room, someone was talking..."

"Do you believe more in what the one who doesn't know who that is says than I do?

"Goddamn it... just go away..."

The more people who live by their senses, the more they care about luck and believe in superstition. It's hard to change that kind of thing's mind.

Then what should I do? How do I get this guy to take this?

"There's a ruby in this pendant. Ruby says it gives the owner eternal life. That's what Iris said for sure...... I feel, I guess"

"... eternal... life..."

After thinking, I decided to breathe a new superstition into Carol.

"If you believe the same, don't you think you should get along"

……

Carol shuts up.

"Why... will you? Earlier, the discharge celebration was an excuse. So... why are you trying to give this to Atashi?

Carol looked up. And he turns his eyes to me.

So I took that gaze from the front.

"Because I want to tell you something."

And I told him so.

"I hear this stone contains another meaning. I want to believe that. So I want you to believe me, too."

I put a pendant on Carol's thin neck.

"I love you."

……

From Toslin's mouth, an incredible word popped up.

At that moment all sorts of things blew out of Atashi's head and turned bright white.

There was a pendant on his neck at some point. Atashi alternated between a beautiful red stone and Toslin's face.

"I guess I'd really rather have a ring or something. He wanted you in his dreams. But if we put something on each other's fingers, that... what, you get in the way?

Like the apple I ate yesterday, Toslin's face is red. But I think Atashi is the same thing now.

"Ah... huh? Um, just now..."

Atashi blinks again and again. I thought maybe Atashi was still dreaming, but the time stays the same and flows as Atashi's early-bell ringing beat.

"Can you put it on me, too?"

Toslin offered another pendant.

Atashi... received it.

"Hey, hey... what you said earlier, Toslin..."

"... don't make me say it again"

Though Toslin seems very, very shy, he never tries to distract himself while staring at Atashi's face.

So Atashi stares. And I asked.

"Again, I want to hear"

"... are you serious..."

Toslin cheeked. And I took a deep breath. Atashi gets caught up in it and takes a breath.

"... I love you. That's what the stone meant. I wanted to tell you that. I thought I would regret dying without telling you about it more than anything else. And Carol?"

"... Ah, Atashi... Atashi..."

My voice trembles. With this hand that once injured Toslin's body, I put a pendant on the wounded neck then......

The red, shiny ruby looks well on the white, beautiful toslin.

"Atashi... like it! Oh, I love you!!

He said he loved you. It's not a pattern. I've only spoken a joke before, I thought it was the most remote word from Atashi.

I couldn't believe the day was coming when Atashi, who had been killed by her parents, was alone and all of us lived wishing we were dead, would have these thoughts in his chest... I never thought. So I thought you might not believe those Atashi words.

If I thought so, Atashi...... I was kissing Toslin.

I was stretching out, hugging him around my neck, kissing him selflessly.

"... Oh, oh, I'm sorry..."

Just calmed down a little and Atashi left Toslin. It could have been annoying. On second thought, Toslin's "I Love You" may not be the same as Atashi's "I Love You".

That thought turned my head, and I got scared.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because... Atashi, do a lot of terrible things to Toslin... Even now, on your own...... So I thought it might be annoying..."

"Really, you can get really hard sometimes."

Toslin sighed. That said, he laughed. And he held a frightening Atashi, this time from Toslin...

"Ah..."

... He kissed me.

"... now you understand? If I thought it was annoying, I'd spend more than half my life with you."

"Ugh, yeah......"

Pushing his fingers through the sensational mouth of Toslin's lips, Atashi spilled tears without suppressing the emotions that were coming in.

"So don't apologize anymore, okay? Laugh all the time, as promised then. You were a little bit in danger earlier, weren't you?

Toslin pointed to his own eyes and said so.

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

Swallow the words that went out unexpectedly. And I hurried to find a replacement word. But I didn't have to look. The word was right there.

"Ah, yes... find me a Atashi... Atashi, wow, I'm happy...... You can meet Toslin and tell Toslin that you like him..."

... From there, there were no more words.

Because I was so happy to have Toslin giggle me like I dreamed then.

Then I had my hair repaired with the toslin I got, and when I finally called, I noticed that Rose was still leaving, and I rushed to call her.

And we had a discharge celebration and a welcoming party for Iris and Saluena, and we ate all the rice.

When my stomach started to tighten, I was supposed to head to church because there were customers coming to the Iries, but Laplice was so prominent.

So Atashi held his hand behind it with Toslin, and he stuck around and walked.

I was kind of glad we became lovers.

Oh, no...... Not like that, Atashi, already...

... and Atashi is now blocked in the mouth.

This is it if you think someone looks kind of awesome about the church.

Isn't Atashi too discredited from Toslin?

No. Does this mean you're trusted the other way around with this? Is that where you should be happy?

If I thought so, my tail was shaking naturally.

Seeing Atashi happy with her mouth blocked, Toslin looked a little strange.

"Rosa, stay here tonight. What do you say, Iris?"

That's what Saluena said, caring about Rosé, who seemed kind of depressed to meet relatives.

Saluena is only the oldest of the Atassis, and you look closely at it.

I used to think he was a bit of a bad guy at first, but he's nice to Atashi, he's a shoulder car, and now I love it.

"Uh, so you mean you're alone with Atashi, Toslin, tonight?

"Blah! Don't be weird."

When I said that thrilled, those words returned. Oh, hey, don't you like it?

"What, weird things? What? Atashi just told you the facts? Hey, hey, what's so weird? Hey, hey."

Am I dissatisfied with being with Atashi? I'm kind of anxious. I don't feel confident that they still love me. Scary.

That's why I joked and heard that. Because Atashi still doesn't have the courage to bump straight into him like a toslin.

"Shut up...... If you don't like me and you, you can stay somewhere else..."

But when I heard that word from Toslin, I regretted it. I knew it, but I thought Atashi was really stupid.

I didn't even have to feel anxious about this.

"I didn't say anything I didn't like. Shh!? Excuse me guys!! Atashi et al. This is it today!! You annoyed me!!

Atashi pulls Toslin's hand and runs out.

For the first time in a long time, I want to make a scene like when you two were alone and adventurous. I want to spend some time drinking and eating until morning where nobody bothers me and nobody interrupts me.

"Oh, hey, hey, don't pull your hand!! You don't have to try to be with me like that..."

On Toslin's chest, I see a small but sparkling ruby.

It must be shining on your neck right now.

The first time I wore it, it was something else. I've never known that to be so happy.

"I have plenty of money, and it's a fancy day for both of us. Ahhh!!

Father, Mother, Atashi don't remember the two faces, but thank you for giving birth.

I'm going to try my best and live a little longer. Because this world has friends and, more importantly, a toslin that I love.

So watch me because I wish I could.

And just a little bit, I'd be happy to help you in a tough time.