1. The First Letter (23)
It was that night that Celine came.
It seemed that he had been asleep in the dormitory all day, and when he heard that I had woken up, he came running quickly. The dressing was sloppy.
My gaze was naturally covered by the white nape of her peeking through, but I cleared my throat and averted my eyes.
He was like a younger sister to me. I shouldn’t have a bad heart, otherwise Leto and Celine would be disappointed in me.
However, whether or not Celine knew how I felt, she started to weep when she saw me raise her upper body. Tears were already welling up.
She immediately started running and threw herself into my arms. I accidentally hugged Celine’s petite body.
I almost screamed, but I managed to hold it in.
Celine’s physical abilities exceeded mine. First of all, it was natural because there was more mana. As she ran with all her might and held her in her arms, it felt like her body, which had been in pain even before that, creaked even more.
But seeing Celine weeping and burying her face in my chest, I couldn’t bear to blame her.
He just stroked the back of her hair and comforted her until she stopped crying.
“Hehe, this, Ian oppa. Whoa… … .”
“Yes, yes. I was very surprised… I’m fine.”
Celine was also very strict. In the academy, I didn’t have to worry about most injuries. A high-ranking priest dispatched from the Holy Land was always on standby at the temple within the premises, and in the third year, a saintess was attending school.
Even the slightest serious injury would not even leave any aftereffects if treated at the right time. Right now, I came in with all sorts of injuries, but didn’t I regain consciousness without any aftereffects?
However, Celine’s feelings were not incomprehensible.
If my last memory is correct, she was the first to find me.
If you had followed my trail in the first place, you would have seen an empty lot lined with corpses of wolves. The bloody scene, and the fact that there must have been a fierce fight in it, was so clear.
And, crucially, my body, which she witnessed, was in disrepair.
The sparring with Seria is ridiculous. The last fight I had with him was a bloody battle where I risked my life and death. There were no concessions, no rules.
Blood splattered and bones splintered. It was a fight that could not be stopped even if his muscles were broken and his breathing was rapid as if he would collapse at any moment.
It was obvious to me what my face would have looked like after such a fight.
Celine witnessed the raw scene. Considering my relationship with her, who had been together for a long time, it would be strange if Celine wasn’t shocked.
However, compared to Leto, I wondered if it would be a bit of an overreaction, but I decided to do it.
She was as lively as usual, and she had a delicately sensitive sensibility. The shock could have been particularly great.
It took quite a while for her sobs to subside. Only after my front island was drenched with her tears did she slowly raise her head.
Watery tawny eyes, and skin so white and soft that it’s hard to believe that he’s been on the path of a prosecutor all his life. As those charming lips opened, a scent I hadn’t noticed until now tickled the tip of my nose.
I remembered. It was the scent he had praised before. Even though he came out in such a hurry, the scent was still there.
My heart pounded strangely. Celine was also a pretty woman. It was understandable, but I tried to shake off the feelings of lust that clung to my heart.
Celine muttered pitifully.
“Brother Ian… You worried a lot.”
A voice filled with slight resentment. If she could be worried about her beautiful childhood friend, that wasn’t too bad.
Without saying a word, I wiped the tears from her eyes. And then, he said, and laughed.
“Are you going to die if I kill you?”
“Yes, I will die.”
That’s right, I immediately ran out of words and shut up. Celine’s eyes widened.
“Why do you choose to do such dangerous things? Whether that bitch dies or not, as long as my brother lives, it’s enough!”
“How is that, we are all faithful subjects of His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Don’t talk in principle like that!”
I didn’t have anything to say, so I recited something roughly, but it seemed that it made Celine even more resentful.
Her eyes narrowed and she glanced at me. Her mouth pouted.
Even so, there were still traces of tears, and it was just cute. I could feel Celine’s love for me.
“… … To me, brother Ian is the most precious.”
As if grumbling, Celine confessed that. Her cheeks turned a little red, perhaps holding back her embarrassment.
My heart pounded and my heart skipped a beat. It was unknown why Celine looked so pretty today. It shouldn’t be like this.
But, as if knowing my confused mind, Celine cautiously met my gaze. It was clear eyes that reminded me of the clear depth of water.
“Other than that, it means nothing. It’s been like that since I was little.”
With desperate eyes, her hands held mine as I was wiping the tears from my eyes. Her voice became more mournful.
“So, I hope Ian oppa will cherish himself too.”
I just stared at her, not being able to respond carelessly to that voice that trembled with desperate emotions.
There were only two of them in the hospital bed. The treatment room was a place where access to outsiders was restricted. In other words, it meant that there was only me and Celine in this space.
Two men and women of the right age were left alone in an enclosed space. And the time is night, a time when reason fades and emotions develop.
It felt like my chest was tickling. Celine is no different, she called me with a strangely erotic voice.
“Brother Ian… … .”
Her sweet breath gradually approaches. Very slowly, so that you don’t even notice.
It’s not like this. I thought so, not knowing what the hell was going to happen. However, the body that was honest with the desire did not budge.
That moment when her breath and mine became close enough to overlap.
“… … What is it?”
“Heh, hehehe?!”
Celine’s body jumped up and down as if convulsing at the man’s voice, which seemed to be absurd. She made a strange noise and got out of my arms. Her gaze hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
The epicenter of that voice was leaning against the entrance of the hospital room, watching me and Celine doing what they were doing. His eyes were peculiarly trembling.
Leto Ainstern was like an older brother to Celine and one of my best friends.
“Mu, mu, what are you doing!”
“What are you doing? My younger sister and two of my best friends are on the verge of holding a funeral, but I thought I should tell you that I am observing.”
“Oh no… … .”
As Leto persistently pursued Celine, as if she had found a good joke, Celine’s eyes began to spin. Her hands struggled in the air as if she wanted to deny something.
Her face had long since turned red. I was embarrassed for no reason, so I cleared my throat and averted my gaze.
I fell in love with the atmosphere for a while. Celine and I aren’t even like that, so it almost got into trouble.
Leto sighed deeply and slammed Celine’s head with the book she was holding.
“Ah, aww!”
“Do that after formally confessing, huh? I’ve been told They say that a lover who has not progressed will not last long.”
“… … That, though.”
Celine hesitated at Leto’s bruise and lowered her head. She seemed to have some regrets in her own way, but when Leto looked at her with pitiful eyes, she had to keep her mouth shut.
Next to Celine was me. Leto clicked his tongue and said.
“You too, man… Is it okay to be in the mood? Are you sure you plan on taking responsibility for Celine? Or, is Celine so easygoing?”
“no no. Neither Celine nor I had any intention of doing that? It’s just nice to see you after a long time… … .”
Even though I made such an excuse, I had to slightly lower my gaze.
Leto was Celine’s older brother. In other words, if I did something to Celine, she was the person I should be most afraid of. I had no jaw to speak.
Even so, I felt like my head was getting complicated.
Well, there were many times when I was alone with Celine, but this was the first time I had such a strange atmosphere.
It was because I didn’t create a situation like that in advance in the first place. But now it seemed as if such a situation was natural.
Since the last time I lost my memory, my life has become a mystery. I couldn’t even guess why the hell I had changed like this.
But in the future, I decided to be a little more mindful.
Celine was a woman who could marry a powerful aristocratic family just with her appearance. I couldn’t stop that marriage road because I became a childhood friend.
Leto must have thought that the scolding was enough, he said to me with a languid expression.
“Hey, Ian. Come to think of it, I think I should buy you a drink.”
“… … why?”
“It’s the monster I caught last time. It’s said that 70 gold will come out as a reward.”
At those words, my eyes widened.
70 gold, which was enough for a family of 4 commoners to live comfortably for more than 5 years. It was clear that it was money. It must mean that the monster I defeated had a high value.
But before I could burst out in surprise, someone came between Leto and me. Needless to say, it was Celine.
“Chi, seventy gold?!”
her eyes twinkled Although she was an aristocrat, she did not live so well as all country aristocrats. Even more so, after paying the expensive academy tuition, there was only ‘dignity maintenance’ left.
Even that would exceed the average standard of living for commoners. However, it was clear to me, Leto, and Celine that 70 gold was an unusual amount.
As if Celine had already forgotten about the previous accident, Celine was already excited and began to make plans on her own with her index finger raised.
“Let’s go to the monster specialty shop in the restaurant district in town! I heard that the drake meat there is so delicious… … .”
“Hey, how could you only pick places that don’t taste good… No, I have to go to a bar. Mr. Van has opened a new place, and he said the alcohol tastes so bad there.”
“No, why! Witchbeast meat is delicious!”
Actually, I had no idea, but Leto and Celine were already debating where to go with 70 gold. It was quite the two.
I said with a smile.
“I risked my life to earn money, what are you two doing?”
“I have to be precise. Money earned by ‘throwing away’ one’s life.”
I was moved by Leto’s tongue-in-cheek words.
No, are you risking your life? Is it okay to disparage the bloody battle of the day like that?
I started to vomit. Just like it always did when the three of us got together.
“Hey, it’s because you didn’t know the situation at the time… me, huh? Did you just try to get over it? But that son of a bitch spits out the cloth he was holding in his mouth. That was a piece of Emma’s clothes? Is it possible to endure in that situation?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Yeah, you can chew~”
However, the response to my ardent speech was plain and simple.
These foolish bastards, even though I thought so, a smile hung on my lips before I knew it.
It was everyday like always. Until Leto’s words continued.
“Still, about that biggest monster, they say it’s a relief that he hasn’t grown up. If I had had a little more time, I would have become a named class, keuh… I should have caught this at the hunting festival! If that’s the case, then the prize is a prize for winning.”
“It’s okay, there won’t be a monster of that size in the forest anyway… I much prefer Ian to be safe.”
With a wry smile, my thought circuit, which had been listening to those words, stopped for an instant.
Yes, there shouldn’t be any monsters of that level in the forest anymore.
The gap between hunting festivals was at most about a year. In the meantime, there was no way a monster stronger than that would appear. If that had happened, countless students would have been killed or injured at this year’s hunting festival.
If it was a monster stronger than that, it would be enough to be named after it.
Witchbeasts, commonly referred to as ‘named’, were incomparable to other beasts in their strength and cleverness. These monsters are truly worthy of being called ‘enemies of mankind’.
Naturally, the number of such monsters was small. Their appearances were rare, so the assumption that they were born in the forest within a year at most was laughable.
But what passes through my head right now is one of the contents of the letter.
‘Coming to think of it, I’m still in doubt. How did you know the monster’s weakness was its horns?’
The smile on my lips slowly fades.
“… … horn.”
At my muttering, which I spat out blankly, Leto and Celine looked at me with puzzled eyes.
“Speaking of horns, did any pieces of horn come out of that wolf beast’s corpse?”
“What bullsh*t? You dealt with it, don’t you remember? It didn’t even come out with horns, let alone horns… hey, hey, are you okay? Your complexion is pale now.”
A worried voice came from Leto and Celine. But at this moment, I had to feel a sense of floating as if I was isolated in a space alone.
Accidents happen. He recalled that fierce battle. It was such a strong opponent. A monster stronger than that lurks in the forest?
My eyes moved beyond the walls of the temple. To the south of the academy, toward the quiet forest.
There, a monster was waiting.
To make the most beautiful blood-red flowers bloom at the annual festival held by humans.
I still had work to do.
*
And the next day, Seria came to visit.