You Never Know Until You Try
I'd never once in my life worn makeup.
Maybe it was because I'd never cared much about my appearance.
Yet here I was, getting my face done—by none other than Ceryll.
"Reina, I told you not to move."
Ceryll caught my chin.
Not like I have a choice.
Makeup required getting this close. Her blue eyes fixed on me so intently that I kept wanting to look away, no matter how much I hated it.
"...I didn't know you wore makeup either, Ceryll."
The novel had never described anything about cosmetics. Honestly, I'd always figured the characters in it simply didn't bother with that sort of thing.
"I like dressing up, too. You get prettier when you do it. No harm in that."
Still, didn't it seem like a hassle?
"You're already pretty even without makeup, Ceryll."
Living in the dorm room next door meant I ran into her constantly. I'd even caught her right after a shower once. Fresh from washing up, Ceryll had been so captivating she stole my gaze completely.
"R-Reina. Hitting me with something that direct is foul play, you know..."
Hmm. Had she been wearing makeup then, maybe?
I'd heard some women could transform themselves with cosmetics. I had no idea how they did it, but the difference between bare face and full face could be night and day.
Could Ceryll be like that?
I knew so little about makeup that even this close I couldn't tell whether she was wearing any. I reached out and brushed her cheek.
"...Reina?"
She flinched slightly, as if surprised.
...Guess not?
Nothing came off on my fingers, so maybe she wasn't. Then again, I could just ask.
"Ceryll, are you wearing makeup right now?"
"Just base makeup."
Base?
"What's that?"
"Same thing I just put on you."
As if showing me would be faster, Ceryll held out a hand mirror.
"Huh?"
I was a little startled when I saw my reflection.
"This is what makeup looks like?"
I barely looked different from before. Aside from my lips being a touch redder, I couldn't tell what had changed.
"It's only the base. Your skin's so good to begin with that it might not show much."
Even after hearing the explanation, I still didn't really get it.
"Isn't makeup supposed to completely change your face?"
Ceryll laughed at my pure confusion, looking amused.
"There are styles like that, but I figured you'd hate it. Or did you want that instead? Want me to redo it?"
I shook my head at her question.
"No."
I was surprised there wasn't a huge change, but that didn't mean I wanted a full transformation.
"This is enough."
It wasn't overdone, so it even appealed to me a little.
"You like it?"
Ceryll's eyes sparkled as she asked. I answered while glancing slightly aside.
"It's not bad."
"I'm so glad you like it!"
She beamed and bought the cosmetics she had just used on me, then tucked them into a shopping bag and held it out.
"It's a gift!"
"...I already got clothes. I can't take this too."
Naturally, these products weren't cheap either.
"If it weren't for your lunchboxes back then, we wouldn't even be here like this right now. So please take it. Okay?"
Just the clothes alone had already more than covered the cost of those lunches, I thought.
"I don't know how to do makeup. Even if I take it, I probably won't use it."
That wasn't a lie. Just because I didn't hate how I looked with it on didn't mean I planned to start wearing makeup every day.
"Then I'll do your makeup for you on every important day. So take it. Okay?"
Ceryll seemed determined to give me these cosmetics no matter what.
"...Fine."
In the end, I nodded.
Me in a pure white dress with makeup on top.
Right now I looked every bit the girl my age.
Well, I was one... but it still felt awkward.
...Will there ever come a day when I get used to this sort of thing?
People were adaptable creatures. If I kept spending time with Ceryll, maybe this look would start to feel natural on me.
Clothes I would never have worn if I'd been alone. Makeup I would never have put on. And a downtown street I would never have walked.
...Once today is over, this will never happen again.
I let out a dry little laugh.
After today, Ceryll and I would never go out together like this again. So there was no way I'd fully turn into her style. And there was no way Ceryll would... get hurt because of me.
I was thinking that when it happened.
"Help me!"
Someone suddenly grabbed my clothes. It was a little girl, slightly shorter than my waist. Even being generous, she looked rough. Mud covered her face and whole body; her nails were filthy. Above all, her expression made it clear something serious had happened.
"A d-demonkin showed up at the café and said they're going to blow it up! M-Mom's trapped inside! Please, please help me."
A demonkin. A café explosion.
It was something that had been mentioned briefly even in the original story. Demonkin existed in this world. If the place I lived was the kingdom, they lived in the place called the empire. Some of them had horns or differently shaped bodies, but they could still be considered human.
They just look different. At the end of the day they're people too, but...
Honestly, relations between demonkin and humans were anything but good. After all, most of the apostles of the Evil God were demonkin.
A demonkin appearing in the kingdom is basically the same as an apostle of the Evil God showing up.
In the original, the protagonist never got involved in this incident. It was only briefly mentioned to create a sense of crisis—an apostle of the Evil God running wild in the kingdom, causing massive damage. That didn't mean it had no effect. Hearing about the accident made the protagonist decide he had to kill every last apostle of the Evil God.
...There were a lot of victims.
Especially children.
Only an apostle of a god can defeat an apostle of the Evil God.
And the one who currently held a sacred relic was...
...me.
By pure chance I was near the explosion site. And I already knew that if the blast went off, there would be heavy casualties.
"Help... please help me."
The child clung to me, crying. There were plenty of people around—why ask me of all people?
I didn't know. But the person she asked for help was the right one.
Right now, I'm the only one who can take down an apostle of evil.
If the child hadn't asked me for help. If I hadn't known the explosion was coming. I would have just walked past. But I knew. I was aware. And I understood better than anyone that I was the only one who could save them.
...I have to save them.
That thought came first. Then another one immediately swallowed it.
-You think the likes of you can save anyone?
A nasty voice that felt like me and yet not me at all.
-You never saved anyone. Not once.
I'd always wanted to save someone. And I'd always failed. My involvement only made the damage worse.
-Don't do anything. That's what's best for everyone.
Don't step forward. Know your place. Someone like you could never save anyone.
The negative thoughts tightened around my throat. That was why I hated situations like this. Even when I thought I wanted to help, I always ended up choosing to do nothing.
Then a warm heat suddenly covered my hand.
"Let's go to the café."
Ceryll took my hand and added with a serious look,
"We have to save those people."
That composed, unhesitating way of saying of course we had to save them—why did that side of her feel both enviable and so impossibly far away?
"I can't."
I turned my head so I wouldn't have to look at her face while I said it.
"Reina."
"Even if I step in, I won't be able to save anyone. That's how it's always been."
On my own I could never—
Whoosh!
Ceryll suddenly yanked me forward. Pulled right up against her chest, my face buried in her soft softness, I listened to her words.
"I want to save everyone. What about you, Reina?"
"I..."
"You don't want to save those people?"
Of course I did. Ceryll showed no sign of letting me go until I answered. I squeezed my eyes shut and replied.
"I want to save them."
Yes. That was my honest heart.
"Then let's go save them. Otherwise you'll regret it for the rest of your life."
I'd always lived a life of regret. I regretted charging in when I couldn't actually save anyone. But more than anything, what I regretted most were the times I had refused the cries for help.
"...Can I really save them?"
I wanted her to give me certainty that I could.
"You never know until you try."
Ceryll was ruthless. She had no intention of leaving me an escape route for if I failed.
"But."
She cupped my cheeks with both hands and gently turned my face. My head tipped back a little, so I was looking up at her.
"The Reina right now isn't alone. You and me—if it's the two of us, we can definitely save them."
If it had been me alone, I would have failed for sure. But with Ceryll. With the outstanding heroine fated to overcome every hardship. If I was with her, maybe—unlike in the original—we could save every last one of them.