Chapter 153 – Love is Original…
Chapter 151
“I must have eaten. Where shall we go?”
To my question, Chloe answered right away, saying that she already had a place in mind.
“You can follow me, hero!”
“Where are you going?”
“Whoops, you can look forward to that!”
Chloe looked very confident. It made me wonder where they were so confident to take them.
“Can I really look forward to it?”
“Sure! It was a place I found by chance when I traveled to Ephesus with my family the other day, right?”
“Ooh.”
Somehow, I wanted to know better, but I’ve been on a trip. By the way, it’s not a famous place, it’s a place I found…
‘Looking at you talking so confidently, it seems like a really worthwhile place to visit.’
I was quite intrigued by the fact that such a place was hidden. I told Chloe with genuine anticipation.
“I’m curious. Let’s go.”
“I have a place to go before then!”
“Yes?”
Where? When I tilted my head, Chloe smiled and said.
“Let’s buy snacks!”
“Yes?”
I just ate, so what kind of snacks? When I questioned Chloe, her cheeks puffed out a little.
“Dessert boats and meal boats are two different things!”
“…Uh, yes…”
In any era, this logic exists. The stomach for snacks is separate, the stomach for rice is separate. It was a very famous logic and a good excuse even in modern times.
“What would you like to eat?”
I’m not hungry, so there’s nothing really appealing about it, but if you’re thinking about something to eat while sitting down and talking…
“Shall we buy something like fruit?”
“Good! There are shops that cut it these days.”
I went to the shopping street with Chloe and bought some fruit and some snacks. I didn’t know there were sweets in this era, right? Although the shape was a bit crude, it was definitely a sweet and crispy cookie.
I followed Chloe with two envelopes. She took me up a small hill west of Ephesus.
“People rarely come here, but the scenery is nice.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s better to see it at night… but I don’t think the hero will stay with me at night.”
“Well, I have to practice. I can’t play until it’s too late.”
Because training is a promise I made with Elfriede. It was something I had to keep, just like I kept my promise to Chloe.
“I know. That’s why it’s moving fast. To be honest, I wanted to play more at the riding arena, but time is running out.”
“…Next time when I can afford it, I’ll play with you.”
“Really? But I have to go back to school as soon as the practice is over… Will I have time for that?”
“Actually, I said it knowingly.”
“Oh, that’s too much!”
“hahahaha.”
I was just kidding. I said to Chloe who pursed her lips.
“By the way, how long do you practice?”
“About a week starting tomorrow.”
“If it’s a magician’s practice class, what are they doing?”
“Sometimes I go for research or experimentation. There is also combat practice. I haven’t been assigned combat practice yet, it’s a research practice.”
“Aha.”
It’s been a week. It’s time left after the regular briefing session ends.
“I wonder if I will be in Ephesus until Chloe training is over.”
“Hero…You said you came because of the regular briefing session, right?”
“Yes. We have it open in three days. Even if we take a day off after the briefing session… I wonder if we can stay for four days and then go somewhere else.”
“…I see.”
As we talked about this and that, we were already climbing the hill. There really wasn’t a single person on the way.
It’s easy to climb a hill, so why don’t people come? If there was a low hill like this, I would usually use it as a trail or something.
“Here, in the past, a very scary and dangerous monster lived there.”
“…Yes?”
“Of course not now! I’ve already investigated several times in Diana Kingdom. Still, it seems that the people of Ephesus are still reluctant to visit.”
…Really? To say that monsters lived near the capital, if I were an ordinary person living in the capital, I would have been anxious and couldn’t sleep.
“Where did that monster go?”
“They disappeared at some point.”
“Yes?”
“It is so dangerous that no one has ever subdued it, but it is said to have disappeared. They say it was a really dangerous monster… It even had a unique name attached to it.”
A unique name?? All the monsters I’ve encountered so far have been classified by ‘grade’, or the monsters classified by name do not refer to an individual, but to the entire species. Like goblins or kobolds.
But you put a name on an entity?
“You mean it was a monster that needs that much attention?”
“It looks like that. I’ve heard it too, so I don’t know.”
“What was your name?”
“From what I’ve heard…It must have been ‘Angel of Steel’? It got its name because it is a monster with a very hard body and wings.”
If it’s wings, it must be a floating monster.
A floating monster with a name… I suddenly hate being here. Seeing my expression and reading my thoughts, Chloe spoke as if to reassure me.
“It has already been more than 10 years since that monster disappeared. So it’s okay, warrior.”
“Ah…Really?”
In 10 years, you must have already gone somewhere else. It was fortunate.
“Ah, I’m here.”
The place Chloe pointed to was the top of the hill. The top was a fairly wide, gently sloping meadow. It was a peaceful place where green sprouts and grass grew thickly.
And below that, the cityscape of Ephesus came into view at a glance.
“Oh…”
“How are you? Isn’t the scenery nice?”
Definitely. Since the appearance of Ephesus comes at a glance, this is another taste to see. Looking at it this way, I feel that the height difference between the downtown area and other areas is better felt.
“It would have been more spectacular if I saw it at night.”
“Yes, it is very beautiful to see it in the evening.”
The scenery is good as it is, and because it is a highland, there is a slightly cool feeling even though it is still summer. There were also shade trees nearby to shade the sun.
It’s a place where you just want to fall asleep and take a nap.
“Let’s go hang out here!”
“What are you trying to do?”
“Just sitting down and chatting while eating snacks~.”
What you want is simple. I nodded happily and pointed toward the shade of the tree.
“Then over there…”
…Huh? What did you just see Are you a person
From noble mtl dot com.
“Chloe, you said people don’t come here often, right?”
“Yes?…Yes, that’s right. If you’re from Ephesus, don’t you come? It seems that non-traditional people like me come up from time to time.”
“Hmm.”
Are you just a non-traditional person? I dispelled my doubts and went with Chloe to the shade of a tree and sat down.
#
“Bar, Abel didn’t notice us just now, right?”
“So I told you to sit down a bit longer, saintess…”
Estel and Celine follow Chloe and Abel after getting rid of all the cold stew. They finally followed Chloe to the hill she brought to Abel because she wanted to show it to Abel.
Just a moment ago, Estelle had stuck her head out to stare at the two of them, almost getting caught.
“Let’s go over there for a bit. It’s coming this way.”
“Yes…”
As Estelle and Celine were about to move, Chloe and Abel sat under the tree.
“!!”
“Saint, be quiet…”
Fortunately, Estelle’s sound of surprise didn’t seem to be heard by the two of them. Abel and Chloe were just sitting on the grass, talking to each other, and having a comfortable time eating fruit and snacks from the store.
“Chloe, I saw a very big elephant the other day. It was really taller than that tree over there.”
“Ah, I also know what an elephant looks like, right? You’re bluffing too much, hero.”
“It’s true. It was a huge elephant monster.”
“Yes?…No, that’s a monster.”
“Anyway, it looks like an elephant.”
Seeing the two of them spending their time having such silly conversations, Estelle didn’t even feel the feelings of jealousy. Contrary to what we saw in the restaurant earlier, the two of them were talking very casually.
But Chloe was not a great person to just sit still. She took one of the fruits she bought, a slice of apple, and held it out to Abel.
“Hero, this is delicious, try it.”
“Even if I eat…”
“It’s a date.”
“…Okay.”
As Abel couldn’t help but scratch her head and open her mouth, Chloe smiled contentedly and stuffed her apple into his mouth.
At that appearance, Estelle’s feelings of jealousy flared up once again.
‘I-I… What am I doing with my eyes wide open like this!?’
However, it was difficult for me to say it out loud because it was so close to me, and I was thinking in my mind. Still, her face showed it all, and Celine, who was next to her, could tell what Estelle was thinking.
“…I have the confidence to feed them well.”
At Celine’s muttering, Estelle turned her head and whispered.
“What are you talking about? I will feed Abel.”
“I’m going to do it too?”
“Celine, I only need one person to feed it.”
“Then take turns. Instead, I will do it first.”
“No? I am first.”
A strange voice came to Estelle and Celine’s ears as they were whispering to each other in a very quiet voice and bickering. It was a word that contained such content that I could not dare to spill it.
“Oh, that’s right. Warrior.”
“Yes?”
“My breasts got a little bigger.”
“Cool! What are you talking about!?!”
“Just kidding. This isn’t what I want to say, it’s something else, will you listen?”
Abel was a little taken aback, but she nodded her head. Chloe looked at Abel for a moment, then she said as she turned her head to the wide lawn.
“I was really lonely.”
“…Yes?”
It was Chloe who said that she had made friends and was getting along well. But she was lonely. Abel asked back, not knowing what she was talking about.
“Then what did you say to me…?”
“Oh, that’s not a lie. But aside from that… I couldn’t help being lonely.”
“Yes?”
“…The hero wasn’t there. It was a short meeting, less than two months… But I’ve become someone who’s used to having the hero and the saintess by my side. And he was also a friendly person whom I hadn’t met in a very long time.”
Abel’s head went blank at Chloe’s words. It felt like she had been hit hard on the head with her hammer. She hadn’t thought of it that way.
A friendly person I met after a long time. As they said, Abel and Estelle were more than ordinary benefactors to Chloe.
For Claw, who lived as a monster for several months, humans were dangerous beings who saw themselves as enemies or monsters. That’s why she always lived on the run, because her two people not only came to see her, but even rescued her.
Estelle, who had been quietly listening to the story, also listened to Chloe’s story with slightly surprised eyes.
“I honestly didn’t know either, but after the hero and the saintess left, I felt it. Especially on the first day you left…I’m ashamed to tell you, but I cried a lot. Actually, I didn’t want to break up.”
Chloe smiled awkwardly as she said that. She was ashamed to bring out her hidden feelings.
“So I made up my mind. If I had been as good as the wizard of the Mage Tower, the hero or the saint might have taken me with me. So let’s work hard.”
That’s how I overcame it. He was a life saver and overcame the shock of leaving two friendly people he met after a long time, adapting to school life, and proudly taking the top spot.
Chloe said with a smile.
“That’s why Goddess Ludria must have given me a prize. Since you’ve been working hard, isn’t it because you gave me a chance to meet the warrior? Of course, I still think that I am not good enough…”
“…What is lacking? You proudly took the top spot in a place where so-called geniuses gather.”
“…Still. To stand by the hero’s side, it’s still not enough. Because the hero…Fights monsters like that. So for the remaining year and a half, I will work hard like now to become a wizard who can stand by the hero and help him.”
A competent wizard is a great help in a party. No matter how great Abel is as a warrior and Estelle is as a saint, they cannot replace all the work that a wizard can do.
Of course, being a wizard is a high-class manpower, so it’s not essential for a party, but it’s definitely helpful if you’re around. Chloe wanted to be that kind of person to Abel.
He himself has been helped, who can give back to Abel beyond that. Chloe looked at Abel, clasping her hands tightly as if promising.
“At that time, the hero couldn’t refuse me either?”
After hearing Chloe’s story, Abel was quiet for a while. And as if he had sorted out his thoughts, he carefully opened his mouth.
“…Chloe, what am I even saying? I may not be the person Chloe thinks I am.”
“What are you talking about? It can’t be.”
Chloe laughed at Abel’s story. Her confident smile made Abel forget what she was saying for a moment.
“The hero is the person I think he is. He has a foolishly naive side, and he is unnecessarily nice and has some weaknesses… But he is a wonderful person who always moves to save and protect people.”
While saying that, Chloe recalled the Chimera that had appeared on the border. Clearly, Abel at that time was still too weak a warrior who was not strong enough to deal with the Chimera.
He must have known that fact better than anyone else, but Abel moved his leg. As Estelle belatedly noticed, the chimera moved as soon as it appeared, and he kept the people safe.
“I mean.”
Chloe very slightly approached Abel. Not too close, but not too far. It was just a position to keep the line.
“I don’t hate the hero’s voice, his face, his sometimes clumsy behavior, his willingness to work hard even though he’s clumsy, and his heart that works for others even when he is in danger.”
Chloe shook her head.
“Yeah, it’s not that I don’t hate it. I like those things about the warrior. I really like everything about the warrior.”
“…Why? After all, we haven’t been together for that long.”
That was a stupid question. A stupid question that, if it were definitely someone else, you might say, “Are you an idiot?” Still, Chloe smiled and said.
“Why? Don’t you know that the hero is in love too?”
The wind blew her purple hair gently. On a meadow full of sprouts and grass, slender fingers tucked back her long hair.
The sunlight filtering through the shade of the trees illuminated her white skin and eyes that shone like amethyst, and her small lips moved.
“Love is something that starts suddenly.”