95 – Afterword – Sarah
Eren kept his promise. Even though it was a passing story like a joke, she responsibly kept her words.
She also had enough ability to keep her promise. A handsome elf boy. Even now that I think about it, it was an absurd request, but Ellen fulfilled her promise perfectly.
Still, if I were to pick one minor problem…
“But what if you bring the elf village chief? Guero.”
“I didn’t know until I heard it myself. He looks seventeen, but I would have guessed he’s actually hundreds of years old.”
“It almost turned into a diplomatic issue. How on earth did you bring him here?”
“She’s just a friend of mine, and she just sent me a letter asking me to introduce a bachelor she’s interested in to a pretty human wizard.”
“…”
… Is it as if she entrusted her promise to another friend?
Of course, the meeting with the hundreds-year-old elf ended in failure. It could be said that it was fortunate that it ended that way, but unfortunately, that was not the end of the cards Guero had prepared. It seemed that Ellen had made a desperate request that she should somehow get this old maid professor to marry her.
Just like that, I suppressed the fatigue from my fourth seat and took a sip of orange juice.
“Ha…”
“Hmm… I guess you didn’t like anyone. But wasn’t Jose okay? He’s the most dependable of my hometown friends.”
“That beast friend. Yes, he’s really nice. Except he’s three times taller than me.”
“Isn’t that better? I heard humans like tall men.”
“But the friend who came next was similar to me?”
“He’s big somewhere else.”
“Ah…Yeah…Yeah…”
“This was a bit rude. I’m sorry, Professor.”
“No. What’s wrong with you?”
It was my fault for asking a student at this age to introduce me to a guy.
I sighed so that Guero could not hear. Okay. It’s all my fault. I had no idea. I shouldn’t expect to be introduced to a proper relationship by a student who is ten years younger than me.
She was so excited about the topic that she even sent her letter to her hometown friend, Ellie. This time, I was introduced to a man. Then, like an indispensable friend, she sent me a kind letter of encouragement.
They also sent me underwear that was so bright that even my face turned red. They say you have to take care of your underwear from the first day because you don’t know what will happen.
…
Well…Of course I wore it out…
I gently tugged on my collar without realizing it. The still awkward feel of my underwear rubbed over my shoulder. I wonder if I will be able to write it today. I opened my mouth, swallowing back the bitter question.
“So Guero? How much time do we have left now?”
“Uh…There are only a few people left.”
“…There are only a few people left. By the way, isn’t it awkward for you as a student to introduce a guy to your professor?”
“Really? Prisoners don’t mind introducing women as long as they are of childbearing age.”
“That’s not what you…Just pretend you didn’t hear.”
I refrained from saying anything to respect the opinions of multicultural students. Guero tilted her head and then shrugged her shoulders.
“Anyway…I hope you like the next person. Because this person is human.”
“Human? You have wider feet than I thought, Guero. I thought your only friends were beastmen.”
“Oh, he’s not my friend. I asked the Duke of Richmond for a favor. He’s the prisoner I saw a while ago. Can you introduce me to a good man?”
“What…? You told the duke?
“Yes. And the professor is very famous. He seemed very happy when I told him I would introduce him to Professor Sarah.”
“…”
Why didn’t you just publish it in the newspaper? Professor Sarah, an old maid, is looking for a husband.
It felt like it was going to collapse. But I managed to clench my fists and come to my senses.
“Yeah…Yeah. You have amazing acting skills. So what kind of person are you? Can you tell me?”
“He’s a discharged knight. He also came from the border.”
“The border is the front line. Isn’t there still a conflict with the demons?”
“Yes, that’s right. I decided to come soon. Then, I’ll bring you. I hope you like it this time, Professor.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I said an unexpected thank you and Guero quickly headed outside. I waited until her image disappeared and she let out a long, drawn out sigh.
“Haaa…”
…
I came from the border…
The image of the unknown man was already pictured in my mind. He must be a more rugged and rugged person than those beasts.
It might be a utopia for someone who dreams of becoming a knight, but at least it wasn’t my ideal type. I started to have a strong feeling that I would be rejected this time too.
It must have been this difficult to fall in love once.
No, maybe my eyesight is too high.
When I thought about that, I suddenly started laughing. Maybe it really is. My standards may be more demanding than others.
When I was young, I was a self-proclaimed genius wizard, Sarah. He grew up to be the youngest professor at Erendel Academy. Because he has lived a life full of pride, has his standard for companions become too high without him even realizing it?
Even when I became an adult, I experienced the terrible pain of heartbreak. Am I still suffering from the terrible aftereffects of a long, unrequited love that was as sweet as a cold?
At that time, I doubted whether I would ever be able to love sincerely like this again.
Perhaps now is the moment when that suspicion turns out to be true.
…
It is very difficult for a woman with a past to fall in love again.
The desire to start over is like a chimney.
I smiled bitterly and raised my head. One late summer day, with warm sunlight and a soft wind mixing like dough. Pure white mint flowers would still be in full bloom in my hometown. Just by thinking about it, the scent of that flower, the tears I shed that day, and the body heat that hugged me as I cried became sweat on my skin.
From Noble mtl dot com
When vacation comes, I’d like to go see Ellie for the first time in a while.
…I’m really rude too. The other person may have high expectations, but I’m actually thinking about something else.
I need to think of a way to gently reject it so I don’t get hurt.
“Hey, are you Professor Sarah?”
At that moment, an unfamiliar man’s voice flowed into my ears. I smiled as kindly as I could and turned my head towards him.
“Yes. I…”
But the next moment, my throat felt clogged. There may be many reasons, but the biggest reason was that the appearance of the man I encountered was different from what I imagined. I thought he was definitely a rugged and rugged man.
What I saw was an ordinary man who looked more delicate than me.
“Yeah…Yes. I’m Sarah.”
“I’m glad. I was worried that I might have been mistaken. Nice to meet you, Professor Sarah. My name is Abel Heritagee, and I came here through the Duke of Richmond.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you too, sir.”
“Please don’t call me that.”
Abel smiled mysteriously and sat down. When she saw that, she felt strangely at ease.
It’s strange. He’s by no means handsome or attractive. Is there still some residual heat from the memories I remembered earlier? He couldn’t be sure, but at least he had the concept of normality that had been missing from men until now. Living in a non-ideal time, I may have desperately needed that sense of normalcy.
So, I looked at the man’s face in silence for a long time. No matter where you looked, he had a face that was too ordinary for a knight of the border. If I had told him that he was an unknown young man from the countryside, I might have believed him.
But his deep blue eyes seemed to contain many stories. As I watched, I felt like the stories would flow into me, so I kept staring without realizing it.
An ordinary face with eyes full of stories. For some reason, it reminds me of someone who lives somewhere.
“…It looks too ordinary to be a knight, doesn’t it?”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay. Everyone who sees me for the first time thinks that way.”
“It seems like everything is showing on your face. I’m sorry.”
“No. Actually, I was expecting a witch with a more eccentric look since I heard she was the youngest genius magic professor. But she was just cute and pretty.”
“Ahahahaha…”
From greetings that seemed to read one’s mind to skillful compliments. For a knight who dealt with demons, he was too good at dealing with people, which made me laugh a little. He was literally the complete opposite of the preconceived notions I had had.
“Thank you. Mr. Abel, contrary to my expectations, you are an ordinary cool and handsome person.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard a compliment. Sir Leonhart even cursed me outright, saying I wasn’t manly.”
“Did you also serve with Sir Leonhart?”
“Yes. Oh, I shouldn’t have done this. The duke said that women don’t like talking about the military, so I should never talk about it. But I left without knowing.”
His face turned a little red as he spoke. I thought he was a little cute with his ordinary yet somewhat awkward reactions. I tilted my head towards him, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear.
“On the contrary, hearing you say that makes me curious. How did a person like this end up serving in the border? What happened there?”
“It won’t be fun. And I’ve already been discharged anyway.”
“And…Excuse me, but I was curious about why you were discharged. How did you come to the decision to quit?”
Why am I like this? Just a few minutes ago, I was just thinking about rejecting it somehow, but before I knew it, I was crossing personal lines and asking questions.
However, even though it was a question that may have felt somewhat unpleasant, Abel answered with a calm smile.
“I was not discharged of my own volition. I was discharged because the command decided that I could no longer fight.”
“Then are you hurt anywhere?”
“Well… There was a dangerous moment when my leg almost got cut off, but that’s not the case. No, it’s true that I was discharged because I was injured. The problem was that my mind was injured, not my body.”
“Aha…”
Did he get some kind of trauma from the arduous life on the battlefield? Thinking that he had asked for no reason, Abel hurriedly took her hand away after biting her lips.
“No, no, there’s no need to feel guilty because it’s not something grand like seeing something bad or seeing a colleague die. On the contrary, it’s a reason so absurd that you’ll laugh when you hear it.”
“You’re going to make me laugh? Is it okay if I ask you something?”
“It doesn’t matter… But you must never smile, right?”
“I won’t laugh. Never.”
I nodded with determination. Then he hesitated for a while and shyly opened his mouth.
“So that’s…”
“…”
“…It was because of a broken heart.”
“Yes?”
At that moment, I started laughing without even realizing it. It shouldn’t have been that way, but the corners of my mouth suddenly turned up at the thought of finding something in common in a strange place. Abel looked at her and covered her red face with both hands.
“I knew it would be like this…I told you that you would definitely laugh.”
“No, that’s not it… I’m sorry. But I never laughed at you. I’ve experienced the pain of heartbreak myself, so I know what it feels like.”
“No, you don’t feel the same way as me. I can assure you.”
“Of course it is, but at least I understand. In any place where people live together, of course such problems can occur, right? So…”
“I didn’t get dumped by someone.”
“Yes?”
I tilted my head once again. Then he shook his head violently and slapped his cheek.
“Ah. That’s it. I’ll stop talking about this. I’m so embarrassed.”
“You’re saying you’re going to stop after this?”
“Yes. It’s really, really an embarrassing memory. It was also sincere.”
Before he knew it, even his ears were turning red like an adolescent boy. When I saw that, a mischievous smile came to my mind. Even though we had only met for less than ten minutes, he felt like he wanted to joke around as if we were already friends.
So, I gently grabbed his fingertips. Dimples appeared on his cheeks as he flinched and trembled.
“Hmm…But I don’t think you can run away now. You’re going to run away by yourself when you revealed that you too have suffered the pain of a broken heart?”
“I didn’t ask what that was…”
“But you peeked into her lady’s secret. Now that things have come to this, you have to tell me everything.”
“Uh…Then I’ll just say this. It involves cold snow, brittle tree branches, and a kind slime. Is this enough?”
“That makes me even more curious. Aren’t you going to tell me the real story?”
“Ugh…”
My fingers were suddenly wrapped around his. Abel was unable to shake off the hand, only his legs were shaking, and then he faced me as if he had made up his mind.
“Then let’s do it this way. I’ll tell you my story, so you’ll also tell me Professor Sarah’s story. That would be fair, right?”
“Hmm…”
For the first time, I hesitated at his suggestion. Telling my story. It must be as long and complicated as his story. It was obviously going to take a very long time to talk to each other.
And when the whole story is over, it will become close to impossible to refuse without getting hurt.
The relationship came more unexpectedly than I expected. I had definitely decided to refuse just ten minutes ago, but this man moved my heart in that brief moment. Is it because they strangely have so much in common that the story goes well?
Maybe this is the beginning of a fateful moment.
In my uncertain gaze, I suddenly caught the sight of Guero standing outside the window. She looked in this direction indifferently and then slightly raised her thumb. It really wasn’t anything special, but to me it felt like a signal from fate.
…
Well…
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to meet him once.
The shining sunlight fell lightly on my eyebrows. I put that positive energy into my dimples and spoke out the first words to start over.
“Okay. Then, shall we begin? Slime Knight.”