episode_0056

When Ariel went back to the village to get her clothes and necessities, I headed to the warehouse with Killua to get a bed for her.

“Ah… um…”

Following behind her as she led the way to the warehouse, I cautiously opened my mouth, trying to ease the subtle but uncomfortable tension flowing between us.

“I didn’t have any other intentions.”

“What are you talking about?”

As if waiting for my words, Killua shot back an almost immediate reply.

“About asking Ariel for treatment…” For treatment, Killua always used to climb onto my lap and massage my chest. Ariel, being taller than Killua, wouldn’t have to climb onto my body, but I quickly spoke up first, hoping she wouldn’t misunderstand that I had asked Ariel for treatment because I wished for such an incident.

“What…? What nonsense are you spouting?”

At my words, Killua, who had been heading towards the warehouse, stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at me with a bewildered expression.

“Do you really think I’d care about such a pathetic incident?”

Killua, genuinely dumbfounded, let out a small sigh and lightly raised her voice, as if scolding me.

“Then… was there something else that bothered you?”

Unable to deduce the true nature of the subtle and uncomfortable tension flowing between us, I cautiously lowered my voice and asked her a question.

Killua, who had been staring at me for a moment, shook her head twice from side to side, as if I were pathetic. Then, as if to show she had held a slight expectation of me, she let out a small sigh. Slowly, she answered the cause of the uncomfortable tension that had been between us.

“I was just concerned that Ariel had the ability to track slime toxins.”

“Then you were suspicious of Ariel?”

“Yes. Even I couldn’t properly pinpoint the location of the toxin embedded in your body… but Ariel easily found it. Doesn’t that seem strange at first glance?”

Listening to her explanation, I belatedly realized that something was indeed strange. Although Killua lacked raw magical power, her ability to wield what little she had was unrivaled in this world. Yet, Ariel, a mage only slightly more skilled than others, had precisely located the slime toxin that even Killua couldn’t properly find.

“And despite that, you accepted Ariel’s treatment without any suspicion or concern? Even though I clearly gave you a chance to gently refuse her?” Following this, the cause of the uncomfortable tension between her and me was clearly revealed.

Killua couldn’t refuse Ariel’s treatment herself, so she had passed the choice to me, the recipient of the treatment, giving me a natural opportunity to decline Ariel’s offer. However, driven by the sole desire to recover quickly, I had failed to notice the opportunity Killua had offered and eagerly accepted Ariel’s request.

“Haa… Ariel probably won’t try anything immediately… but I’ll keep checking your body just in case.” Killua, sighing deeply as if pitying my pathetic foolishness and ignorance, shook her head and grasped the doorknob of the warehouse.

“I… I’ll do it!” I, who had momentarily been lost in thought due to Killua’s reprimand, hurriedly approached Killua, intending to open the heavy warehouse door for her.

“No need.”

As if my help wasn’t necessary, Killua lightly circulated her magic throughout her body, temporarily enhancing her physical strength.

Bang!

Her arm, thinner than mine, swung open the large, heavy warehouse door, which was bigger than her body, with enough force to raise a cloud of dust.

“Take the bed and move it to the herb drying room where Ariel will be staying.” Killua, pointing to the crude wooden bed made by the Hero standing inside the warehouse, gave her instructions and turned her back to me so coldly that I could feel the chill.

“Wh-where are you going?”

Under the late evening moonlight that was slowly beginning to rise, her steps were directed towards the forest.

“I’m going to gather some nocturnal herbs like evening primrose and night-dew blossoms.” Killua offered only a brusque remark without further explanation, striding briskly towards the forest.

I could only watch her cold departure, and with a small sigh, I began to move to set up the bed in the warehouse.

—————————

“Haa… this is annoyingly irritating…” Killua, heading into the forest late at night to gather herbs, walked along the forest path, unable to shake off an unusually uncomfortable feeling.

“Seriously… it’s really nothing important…”

After a few steps, Killua paused, closed her eyes, and recalled what had just happened. Then, in Killua’s mind, Jazel’s image appeared, eagerly accepting Ariel’s offer of treatment as if he had been waiting for it.

She didn’t know what method Ariel had used, but if it was certain that Ariel had accurately located the toxin remaining in Jazel’s body, then it would be most efficient for her to handle the treatment. If she were in Jazel’s shoes… it would have been perfectly natural to receive treatment from Ariel, who had the potential for more efficient healing.

“Ugh… it just feels irritating somehow…”

Objectively speaking, Jazel had made a very rational decision. Up until then, there had been suspicion towards Ariel, but she hadn’t felt the same anger or discomfort as she did now.

‘I didn’t have any other intentions.’ However, the most decisive thing that made her uncomfortable was that one remark Jazel had uttered.

“No, damn it… does he think I’m jealous or something?” Killua irritably kicked a stone rolling at her feet with all her might.

“He’s really stupid! And pathetic! Even simple-minded!!” The stone she kicked rolled powerfully, struck a nearby rock, and shattered into fragments, ringing out with a clear sound.

“Haa… I can’t just leave him be, can I…” The shattered fragments of the stone rolled back across the grassy field and came to rest near her feet.

“That foolish guy… he ended up like that because he trusted people too easily…” Killua, grumbling softly as she looked at the broken stone fragments that had rolled back to her feet, took a deep breath to calm her uneasy feelings.

“I don’t know Ariel’s true purpose, but… I should prepare for any eventuality.” With her agitated mind calmed by the soft moonlight and the quiet night air, Killua slowly walked along the forest path, beginning to scatter her magic around her.

“Evening primrose… moonlight herbs… a few night-dew petals…” Killua used her scattered magic to locate the herbs she wanted and began to easily gather them from a distance, using only the power of her magic.

When she had walked about a hundred steps along the forest path, a handful of herbs, found and gathered with her magic, was clutched in her hand. Having found and gathered all the necessary herbs, Killua took another small deep breath to recall the magic she had scattered around her.

“Heheh… hello!” Standing before her was the Hero, descending the forest path with countless herbs in a large basket slung over his shoulder.

“You’re a bit late today, aren’t you?” Killua lightly waved her hand towards the Hero, acknowledging his greeting. Naturally, her gaze fell upon the herb basket slung over his shoulder.

It was filled with various herbs like evening primrose, moonlight herbs, night-dew blossoms, and moon roots, all of which Killua had been looking for.

“I was late because I went to the shady canyon deep inside!” The herbs in his basket were known to only be harvestable in the dark of night, but in truth, they could also be gathered in the morning if one went to deeply shaded canyons or valleys where thick shade lingered all day long.

“No way… you went all the way to the canyon just to gather these?” She was surprised by the Hero’s actions, as he had gathered more than enough herbs without needing her to exert herself, yet at the same time, it couldn’t help but feel strange.

“These herbs are usually completely unnecessary…” Most of the herbs he had dug up were used for mental stability, slight anesthesia, or calming sudden excitement.

“I wanted to drink refreshing night-dew tea! And have some moon root slices with it! And the other herbs, I just gathered them along the way when I saw them!” The Hero burst into a foolish laugh, explaining why he had gone through the trouble of going all the way to the canyon to gather herbs.

At the Hero’s foolish reason, simply wanting to drink tea brewed from night-dew petals with thin, sugared slices of moon root, Killua was so dumbfounded that she burst into a laugh mixed with exasperation.

“Well done. Suppressing what you want to eat can make you sick, you know.” Killua, accepting the Hero’s foolish reason, let out a sigh of relief as if a big worry had been lifted.

Then, the Hero proudly lifted the shoulder carrying his basket, full of the herbs Killua wanted, as if showing it off.

“Anyway, what are you doing here? There’s nothing much to see in the dark night forest!”

“Well… my original purpose was to gather herbs, but thanks to you, it’s meaningless now.” Killua gazed at the Hero’s basket, which contained more than enough of the herbs she needed, gathered on her behalf, and offered a faint smile.

As if overwhelmed by her smile and gratitude, the Hero also pulled the corners of his mouth up to his ears, bursting into a foolish and carefree laugh.

“Heheheh… so, shall we go back together?”

At his suggestion, Killua looked towards the direction of the house, as if contemplating for a moment. By now, Jazel was probably struggling alone to set up the bed Ariel would use. If she or the Hero went back and helped him, setting up the bed would be over in an instant, but… Today, due to his foolish remarks, a strange resentment had flared up, and she wanted him to struggle a bit.

“The moonlight is nice, don’t you want to draw something?”

“Huh?” At Killua’s suggestion, the Hero raised his head and looked at the sky. Despite her words about the nice moonlight, a half-moon, perfectly split in two, hung in the sky, making her statement seem a bit out of place.

“Heh. Shall we? Even if it’s a half-moon… I think Killua would look beautiful even under that moonlight!”

“Ahaha… you should cut back on such obvious compliments.”

“Heheh. Saying something beautiful is beautiful isn’t a compliment. It’s just a given.” At the Hero’s incredibly pure and foolish reply, Killua, dumbfounded but not displeased, burst into laughter and lightly punched the Hero’s plump side.

Scratching his side, which Killua had just hit, the Hero, still laughing, started walking along the narrow forest path that led deeper into the woods instead of towards the house. As he walked, he began to pull out paper for drawing and charcoal for simple sketches from the pack on his back, as if he had expected something like this to happen.

“Where are you going? Do you know a place with a good view?”

“Heheh! There’s a pond where the moonlight shines beautifully!”

“A pond? That would be pretty.” At the mention of a pond, Killua raised her head and looked at the half-moon in the sky. Even though it wasn’t a full moon… if there was a pond reflecting even that half-moon, it would be as bright and beautiful as a full moon.

“You have better taste than I expected?” Imagining that beauty, Killua smiled faintly and followed the Hero, walking along the narrow forest path.