Chapter 33: Just before reaching Clausel (Part two)

(Oh, you mean the magic stone?)

The fact that he had just been holding the White Hawk’s magic stone in his hand immediately brought this idea to Ren’s mind.

But I don’t know why I would be blamed for it.

Still, Ren’s mind immediately wandered to Mireille and Roy.

(Maybe it’s like my mom was mad at my dad ……)

Mireille once told me.

Roy had seen her obsession with the magic stone and had mentioned how it was.

(In the lady’s eyes, I looked like I was obsessed with the magic stone?)

So, the story goes, why is she angry?

Magic stones are used for many things, and are sometimes valued as jewelry.

But maybe the way I was staring at them as if I was devouring them didn’t seem very normal to me.

Thinking back, there were a number of empty magic stones in my room, and from the side, one could be forgiven for thinking it was a strange hobby.

(It seems she didn’t see me absorbing the magic stones.)

“I understand…. If it’s hard for you to say, I won’t dig any deeper. But can you tell me why you had that thing?”

Licia’s voice was gentle.

She was not angry, just calmly trying to rebuke him and letting him know of her generosity.

Even if they were on different sides of the story, this wouldn’t change.

“The reason I had it?”

“Yes. I have to say no to what’s not right, so I want to ask you why you did what you did.”

Ren was looking away to think of an excuse.

Licia calmly said to Ren, “Look at me,” and locked gazes with him.

On the other hand, Ren.

The excuse he came up with seemed like a good one to him.

“I’ve been curious about it ever since I first saw it.”

He answered in this direction, I’ve been interested in the magic stone.

This was somewhat boyish, and since Roy had been like that since he was a child, it should not be out of place.

The fact that he is a legitimate son of a knight family should also have something to do with it.

But Licia is —-.

“You were just curious…..? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.”

She covered her cheeks with both hands, and her skin flushed red as if in the height of her shame.

She had told Ren to look at her, and now she hurriedly turned her face away from him. Then, through the gap between her fingers, she looked into his face.

“Ahhh…… you don’t have to stare at me so much to say that. it’s not fair to suddenly say something like that….”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”

“No, you can’t! You can’t do something like that, no matter how curious you are!”

(After all, isn’t it normal to look at the magic stone as if devouring it?)

In the past, Mireille had said something similar.

The thought of what he had just recalled came back to his mind again and made Ren change his mind.

When you think about it, people who stare at jewelry too long are a bit odd, regardless of gender.

But gemstones are minerals, and magic stone is a material taken from the body of a monster, so the feeling may be different. ……

But Ren thought it was a normal value.

“I’m sorry….. that’s right.”

“Even if you care about the other person, that’s not okay. …… That’s because I owe you a lot, so I can’t say it strongly because you have a lot of grace, and Ren is a boy, so you can’t help it a little bit…… It’s embarrassing for me too, and if it were normal, you’d be imprisoned, Do you understand?”

(Opposite? Grace?)

“I’ll give you a pass on this one time, though. Just this once because you were honest with me!　And don’t forget that you owe me a special favor!…… got it?”

Ren felt that they weren’t on the same page from the middle of the conversation.

I tried to point out the problem, but Licia’s cheeks turned bright red and she spoke strongly, so I couldn’t even ask her.

(The next time I’ll be more careful.)

“I am sorry. I will do as the young lady says.”

“—- name.”

“Eh?”

Licia’s jewel-like eyes were slightly teary, and she was still overcome by a strong sense of shame that hadn’t yet cooled.

“I’m not happy about forgiving you for what happened, but I can’t help it if you says something like that!”

“Um, so what?”

“That’s why I’m saying you can call me by my name because you have no choice!”

Licia’s voice, somewhat thrown off, melts into the plain swaying in the wind.

The misunderstanding between the two was never resolved until the very last minute.

*******************************************************　

It was the evening of the same day.

“Ren! Clausel will be in sight soon!”

Licia shouted happily in the forest, where the scenery was more familiar than ever.

Thanks to him, Licia was feeling much better and her complexion was much better.

Licia’s voice was even more bouncy than before, and Ren, who supported her on horseback, was pleased to see how lively she was.

(She’s doing well.)

I’d like to think it’s safe to say that we’ve come this far.

“Hey, Ren!”

“Yes, what is it?”

“If we go through this forest and over the hills, we can see Clausel!”

“Does that mean we are completely safe?”

“Yes! I’m sure there are knights from my family there, so we need to ask them about your family right away….!”

So it seems that we are already as close to the finish line as possible.

“By the way, how long until we are out of this forest?”

“I’m sorry, I think we’re really close to getting out of the forest. We came from the Baldor Mountains side. I mean, this is a road I haven’t been on much….”

Whatever it is, the way, Ren and Licia are going is the one where the road has not been maintained.

The road is not maintained all the way to the frontier, but only to the surrounding towns, but even after the road is cut off, it is said to be incomparable in ease of progression.

Because of this, there weren’t many people going through this area.

(No wonder we didn’t cross paths with anyone.)

“I would have preferred to continue on the maintained road if possible.”

“Yes….. but we came from the Viscount Givens’ side, so it couldn’t be helped.”

We wanted to go through the most crowded place possible, but this was unavoidable.

Now we just have to hurry so as not to waste all the efforts we have made so far.

—- However, the road that seemed to be going so well has a shadow on it.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and the sky peeking through the trees was covered with an azure hue.

Then, from far away, the sound of hoof beats began to reach us.

From front to back and from left to right, the sound of hoof beats quickly approached Ren and Licia.

Soon, those who had been making those sounds surrounded the horse that Ren and Licia were riding.

“I’m glad we found them.”

The knight who had visited Ren’s village on behalf of Viscount Givens said. 

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