Chapter 1 - Part 1
Thank you Esme for the kofi! (1/1)
***
Lelia said a little sullenly, “… If you don’t help, I’ll take care of it.”
“By yourself? Are you saying you want to go to the Hraesvelg Empire alone?” Griffith replied in a slightly angry voice.
Romeo also messed up his hair as he was in a bad mood. “Lelia, I want to help, but… As you know, he can’t be traced by Griffith’s divine power or my magic. Not even sure if he is in the Hraesvelg Empire.”
“However…”
It was then that Kalix, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.
“He is not far away.”
“What?”
“Oscar… he’s not far away.”
Griffith and Romeo looked at him as if they weren’t going to listen to all his bullsh*t.
Lelia then asked Kalix, her eyes shining, “What do you mean, Kalix? Please tell me more.”
“Just… I can smell it.”
“What are you talking about, that pervert b*****d…”
Romeo murmured as if he felt Kalix’s answer was pathetic. However, his expression soon turned dark. That madman found Lelia by sheer sense. In his own words, it was through smell, but he does not know exactly what it is, whether through sense or an instinct. Anyway, no matter how different his physical abilities are from normal humans, it was a lot.
Romeo turned his gaze to Lelia with a hardened expression. He had a look that Lelia was certain of something.
“… Okay.”
After answering that, he calmly began to drink his tea. Griffith and Romeo exchanged glances at each other, and Kalix pinched his nose and started eating dessert.
***
After tea time.
Lelia ran out of time talking to her friends, and they had a late dinner together.
“Why do you guys eat so late?”
During the meal, Uncle Karius entered the restaurant. Her uncle also seemed to be having a late dinner. So the five of them had dinner. Karius seemed excited today, and it turns out that he and her mother went for a walk alone.
“Now I feel a little more comfortable. That’s natural. Because I was the closest to my sister.” Karius said with an excited expression.
“Good luck, Uncle.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Lelia. I really…”
Uncle’s eyes began to turn red as if tearing up again. But, perhaps because it was in front of her friends, he was holding back the tears as hard as he could.
“Thank you, Griffith.”
At Uncle Karius’ words, Griffith laughed, saying it was nothing. At one time he felt deeply betrayed by Griffith, but his family now appreciates Griffith again. It was all because of Lelia.
It was not Griffith’s will, but the temple, which she explained to be a misunderstanding. In actuality, she was confused too. She still didn’t know if it was a real misunderstanding or not. However, she didn’t want her family to hate Griffith, who was responsible for waking her mother up.
“Yeah, it’s not like this… I can’t stand still on a good day like this. You should have a drink. Let’s drink together, how about you?”
Guess Karius was in a really good mood, he suddenly had a servant fetch him a bottle from the cellar. Unlike the sweet scent, it was a very strong drink.
“Isn’t this what father really loves? He won’t leave me alone if he finds out I’ve opened it.”
Even as his uncle said so, he poured the drink without hesitation. Kalix started drinking excitedly, probably because he and his uncle had become friends through alcohol on the battlefield. Romeo and Griffith drank with their uncle, but put down their glasses when they started to get drunk. Yet, Lelia hasn’t spoken since she took a sip. Her uncle encouraged her friends to drink, but he did not force Lelia.
After dinner.
The servants moved the drunken uncle, and Romeo looked at Kalix with a disappointed expression. Kalix was drunk and lying on the table.
“I’ll take Lelia and come, you move.” Griffith turned to Romeo and stood up sullenly. Romeo had an angry expression on his face, but he quickly dragged Kalix away. So, Lelia walked up to the door with Griffith.
“Thank you, Griffith.”
“Are you thankful for just this?” Griffith asked with a smirk. His ears were red, probably because he was a little drunk. Lelia shook her head.
“No… Thank you so much for waking up my mom.”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“… Still.”
“If you really appreciate it…”
Griffith looked down at Lelia with a burning gaze, and lips set in a straight line.
‘Is it because of the alcohol? It looks like she might cross the line.’
“No.”
As Griffith shook her head, Lelia spit her words out, as if nervously.
“If you have anything to ask me, please tell me. If it’s your request… I can listen to anything. Unless it’s weird.”
“… Weird? What do you mean?”
When he dared to ask, Lelia’s forehead wrinkled. Griffith could barely hold back the urge to laugh out loud. But it was hard to bear the smirk.
“Don’t make fun of me. I just said thank you, but you…”
“I’m sorry, Lelia. Anyway, if you’re really going to ask me… I’ll put that off for a while. I’ll tell you later when I really need it.”
“… Okay.”
Griffith stared at Lelia with a smirk, then gently reached out his hand.
“…”
His warm hand caressed Lelia’s ear. Despite his warmth, Lelia felt strangely cold. Lelia took a step back and opened her door.
“Then I will go to sleep. You go back to your room.”
“… Yes, good night Lelia.” Griffith said, hiding his disappointment. He’d like to be a little more sassy, but it’s probably dangerous right now. He didn’t want to ruin their current relationship by making a mistake.
‘You’ll get it soon anyway, so it’s better not to be hasty.’
His head was dizzy from the drink. It was difficult to drive out drunkenness even with divine power… In the first place, he had never had such a strong drink. If it wasn’t Lelia’s uncle who offered the drink, he wouldn’t have drank it.
“Oh, and…”
Before the door closed, Griffith caught Lelia. Lelia lifted her head and looked at Griffith.
“… Sooner or later, we will have to return to the neutral zone again.”
“… Okay.”
At Griffith’s words, Lelia nodded obediently. At that moment, Griffith almost couldn’t resist his urge. How lovely it was the way she nodded her head with an attitude as if she would obey whatever he wanted.He tightened his clenched fists. He immediately wanted to drag Lelia into that room and dispel his urge to kiss her first. He wanted to push her to the point where she can’t even breathe…
Lelia looked anxiously at him, and then she closed her door. Shudder. When she escaped his vision, Griffith regained his sanity. He stood firm in front of the door for a long time, then left his regret behind and moved on.
***
Lelia entered her room and went straight to her bathroom. She drank only one sip and she remained a little drunk. Coming out after washing with cold water, her drunkenness disappeared. After she dried her hair, she walked in her room for a while before she stopped as if she had made up her mind.
“Alchemy.”
- Yes
“I can’t pretend to sleep… No. Is there any medicine that can keep me from falling asleep?”
Of course she is used to going to bed late, but lately she can’t fall asleep easily… She was planning to stay up all night today. To do that, she needed some help.
- Oh! ( ꒪⌓꒪)!! It’s exam period, and you’re still playing? Are you falling asleep while your boss is watching?! If so, I recommend the ‘super-strong caffeine’! (・_・)/
Lelia murmured ‘Thank you,’ and went through the recipe list. She had a lot of recipes, so she was quick to get help from Alchemy. She made sure that she had the ingredients, and she made the alchemy potion straight away and took it from the inventory. And as soon as she poured the pills into her mouth, the message appeared.
*(Side effect: I can’t sleep for 3 days haha)*
No, why now… Lelia frowned and looked at the empty vial. If she knew it’s effectiveness, she would have drank a little… She chuckled for a moment, and then she lay down on her bed.
The efficacy was certain. Even though she was lying on the bed, she was clear of mind without feeling tired. She knew that, and as she tossed and turned for a while she thought about this and that, so she got up to lay down against the wall with the painting.
It was a picture of a beautiful landscape, and it has been hanging in Lelia’s room since her childhood. Lelia closed her eyes after she stared at the picture for a long time. She had her back facing the window. She pretended to be asleep, so she closed her eyes and increased her sense of touch. She tried to lower her steady, even breathing. Then, through her closed window, she began to hear a slight breeze, the sound of grass and bugs. She was sensitive to even the slightest sound. What she was waiting for was the invader of dawn.
‘He will definitely come.’
That day, after hearing Kalix’s words, Lelia was convinced. The scent of Oscar she felt in the morning was not a dream. As Kalix said, Oscar is not far from her. She thought that he would come to her room today, just as he did last night. Please, please. Lelia closed her eyes and clasped her hand as she longed and prayed. And at some point.
Sshhh…
The window opened silently, and the cold air of the dark night seeped into the room. A dark shadow slowly approached the bed. The movement was so quiet not even the slightest footsteps could be heard. But Lelia could notice the faint scent seeping into the tip of her nose.
It was a nostalgic, sad, painfully lonely scent.
***
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