Chapter 110

“Alright, we’ll use the bath then . ”

Chiharu said with a smile .

“Uh, are you sure? Chiharu?”

Maki asked, but Chiharu just pulled her into the room . The door closed quietly . After some time, the others could hear the sounds of running water .

“What should we do, Aeris?”

“Don’t ask me . I don’t know . ”

Aeris said to Aaron . His eyes went to the bedroom door, and then to the window .

“She should have been angry . ”

“She was angry . ”

“Was she?”

Aeris sounded uncertain .

“While she is not my lover, I have no right to make excuses . ”

“Damn it . It’s very troublesome how bold even women are . ”

Aaron said with visible annoyance .

“To be honest, things are moving too quickly that I don’t understand it . I am shocked that a woman would do such a thing . But is it your fault, Aeris?”

Edwy asked . Silence fell over the room .

“Aeris might have trouble explaining it . He’s an elf . He doesn’t really understand why we find certain things strange . ”

Aaron said .

“Elves are generally hunters . You might wonder why then they leave the dungeons to humans, but it’s because they think it’s pointless to hunt monsters when you can’t eat them . ”

“Really? But Aeris is a researcher of magic stones . And it seemed like there were many who were interested in the same thing . ”

“Yes, if they find something interesting, they can become obsessed and bear results . But those that are obsessed with research only want to research . They don’t want to gather the stones . Sericulture and beekeeping are very popular, as is textiles and decorations . And they tend to have lots of love affairs . ”

“Lots of love affairs…”

“This is because both men and women like the strong and the perfected . ”

Edwy thought about how humans seemed to prefer cute and gentle women . In fact, this was really just his own preference .

“So even if it’s annoying, they don’t think of it as bad or have negative thoughts . Just as you saw earlier . ”

Aeris shrugged .

“However, what will Chiharu think? I don’t even know what I want her to think . ”

He chuckled . He had not been so drawn to anyone during the last three hundred years of his life . And so he himself did not know what he wanted to do .

“However, I do not mind these fluctuations of my heart . ”

It was not bad . However, he wouldn’t mind if it stayed high either .

As for what Maki and Chiharu were doing then .

“Maki-chan . You go in first . ”

“Huh? Are you sure, Chiharu?”

“I’m fine . ”

Chiharu smiled . Maki seemed unsure, but disappeared into the bathing room anyway .

As Chiharu was covered in sweat, she remained standing so that she wouldn’t touch anything . And she thought back on what had happened . It would soon be three months since they came to this world . Had the wounds of her broken heart been healed? She put a hand to her chest .

She still felt a little pain . But now, the face of the new girl was more prominent than the co-worker she had liked .

Chiharu had known it from the start . She saw that the new girl was drawn to him . And he was clearly not oblivious to it . But she wanted to believe . That there was a real bond between them . It was not something that could be broken so easily .

Ultimately, she realized that bonds were brittle things . Chiharu made a tight fist .

Still, I…

Chiharu thought . She had known, but had she done enough to stop it? It was he who had confessed to her . Had she been so sure that he wouldn’t betray her? Yes, Chiharu had been testing him . And she lost .

Maki quickly washed up and came out of the bathing room .

“Your turn . ”

“Yeah, thanks . ”

Maki watched her with concern as she went to take a shower .

She knew that Aeris cared for her in a way that was different from a guardian . It wasn’t just because she was a Saintess . And she liked it . Aeris was important to her as well . Aside from Maki, she felt more relaxed with him than anyone else . But she wasn’t sure if that was love or not .

She touched the large button and the water stopped . Chiharu asked herself .

What if someone, say the princess from earlier, what if she took Aeris away? Just like she had lost her old co-worker?

If it’s not enough to just watch . Will you fight? This time .

A drop of water fell to the floor .

It’s not about winning or losing . It’s not even a fight . I don’t want my feelings to be rushed because of someone else .

Chiharu lightly dried herself off and left the room .

“Chiharu, woah . ”

Woah? Chiharu couldn’t help but laugh .

“Yeah, that’s better . You had such a severe look in your eyes so I was surprised . ”

Maki said as she helped dry Chiharu’s hair .

“Hey, Maki-chan . ”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t have to rush, right?”

“Hmm? Sure . ”

Maki said, even though she didn’t know what Chiharu was talking about . If that’s what Chiharu wanted to do, then she should do it .

“Let’s show our foreheads . ”

“Hmm? Are you in battle mode?”

“That’s not what I meant . ”

It wasn’t a fight . However, if the only way for her to go against those beautiful people was to use her status as a Saintess, then she would do it . Maki raised her bangs and Chiharu tied her long hair up so that her forehead showed . They were wearing the clothes they got at the Midland castle, but she didn’t mind . It was pretty enough . They looked at each other and nodded .

“Good!”

“Let’s say hello and then go sightseeing!”

“Yes!”

When they opened the bedroom door, the men all turned around at once . Their eyes widened a little . Their foreheads were usually covered with a ribbon, but they were completely exposed now .

“It’s beautiful . ”

Aaron couldn’t help but mutter .

“Ew, what?”

Maki laughed . But Chiharu walked straight towards Aeris and looked up into his green eyes . Such kind green eyes . Eyes that looked only at her . Aeris raised his right hand and slowly touched her forehead as he moved towards her just a little .

The princess taking him? Impossible . There was no need to even fight . What those green eyes gave Chiharu was unwavering confidence . She smiled . Aeris breathed in and there was a heat in his green eyes .

But before he could do anything, Chiharu moved away . And he slowly lowered his hand, as if with great regret . While it was a small sprout, there was something there that could grow . He felt as if this was proof of that .

Edwy had been watching this quietly .

“Now, let’s hurry up and meet the king so we can go exploring!”

“I want to leave this castle and relax in the town!”

The two said . Edwy hid the slight hurt he felt and said,

“Really, you two are supposed to be part of the research team . You said so yourself . ”

He didn’t forget to remind them . Oops . They said with a laugh, not knowing what was in Edwy’s heart . Still, Edwy was happy to see them laugh . He had matured a lot on their travels .

“Well, let’s go then . To this place where the hunters wait . ”

“Don’t scare them, Aaron . It’s just a simple greeting . ”

Maki had still not learned that things do not go away so easily .