Episode 2-b. For Freedom and Adventure

Actually, I've always tried my best to live a good life. From the first time I met Ain in the past, up until now as I chase after him.

I wanted to wear the facade of an ordinary, kind person despite my rotten core at its root, hoping my small and grand wishes would come true. So I hid my corrupted inner self and struggled to live as a good child, trying and trying again. I was afraid that if I didn't make the effort to be good and my true nature leaked out, Ain would abandon me. The young Ain back then would occasionally give me that look, full of dread that I might cause trouble. Even as he held my trembling hand amid the people, his eyes were filled with worry as he gazed at me.

That's why I always had to cover myself with a thick mask and wield polite speech as a shield when dealing with others. So, honestly, I know a lot of bad words. Most of what I heard in the alleys from a very young age were curses, and as I grew older and wandered the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠market streets, there were the rough expressions spat by the elders. Maybe I have a pretty good memory. Those harsh phrases that stabbed into my heart like daggers from childhood are still embedded there, and after Ain disappeared, I would sometimes pluck them out and spit them forth. Things like "shut up" or "retard." Well, there are various others lingering as well.

But spewing them brought a strange sense of relief, so I always make an effort to keep such words from sticking to my tongue. Because when I met Ain, I wanted to show him only my good and beautiful side.

However. Today, my head hurts.

"..., fuck my mom."

My head throbs so badly that a bad word slips out, and everything's spinning. My vision whirls, my stomach churns with nausea, so I flop onto the bed just like Eileen, who's grimacing from muscle pain.

"Lady Asha, that's a bad word..."

"Hoo, I don't have a mom, so it's fine for me."

It's just calling the mom who abandoned me a bit more harshly, after all.

"Ah..., um..., still, maybe soften it...? Ah, uh.... Is that okay then...?"

At my words, Eileen tilts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her head as if pondering deeply, then winces hard as if her whole body aches, letting out a groan.

"More than that, my entire body hurts so much.... I don't need muscles, so please just heal me once...!"

"No. And it seems like alcohol really isn't for you. I thought I'd never see Ain again and would die like this."

I was an adult, so drinking wasn't a sin, but if I had to describe my first impression of alcohol, all that remains is that the next morning feels like hell. Losing consciousness after just one glass, and being unable to move the next day from the hangover—it's ridiculous. And Eileen grumbles.

"Yeah, I nearly died too, actually. Lady Asha, you're heavy—I almost got crushed to death..."

"..., that's rude."

"At least today, you're the rude one, Lady Asha."

"... ."

However. Even though Eileen kept saying impudent things, today I had nothing to say in return.

"..., ugh."

"Ah, Lady Asha?! If you puke on the bed, extra charge! No! Hurry to the bathroom...!"

First, I need to empty my stomach.

It was some time later that the two of us properly got up. I shuffled out like a dying old man, and Eileen trembled like a fawn, but somehow we made it outside.

"There's no trace here at all."

"Then let's head to the next spot, Lady Asha."

"Yes."

As always, we wandered about checking if any traces of Ain remained. Strictly speaking, figuring out where he'd gone was important, but deep down, I wanted to indulge in all the things he'd left behind.

Because there was a chance he might never return once he left. If I missed seeing something this time, it would mean letting go of his footprints forever. I'd endured three years, so holding out another week or so was fine. I just hoped to take away as much as possible in that time.

So. As we looked around here and there, pondering where else his traces might linger, we took a shortcut down an alley.

"... ."

"Uh, kids... ."

There, a few abandoned children huddled together. Just like my childhood, they wrapped themselves in shabby rags and crouched on moldy planks. Their stomachs growled long and loud through the alley from hunger, and they scratched at their arms, itchy from lack of washing.

"F-food..., ah, I have some!"

"... ."

Eileen approached them pitifully, rummaging through her pockets. I just gazed at the alley's scenery for a moment.

To put it simply. The scene was quite bitter, but terribly familiar to me. Memories flooded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back of hiding between the capital's buildings, barely surviving the winter. And the thoughts continued.

For some reason, I was certain. The man who saved and cared for me wouldn't have passed by such a sight. I nodded faintly, recalling that dimly. Surely Ain couldn't ignore these bitter things. He's such a truly kind person. Unlike me, who only pretends to be kind—he's genuinely good and wonderful.

So I felt like we'd luckily come to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right place. Thus, I raised my hand to cast a spell.

"Hehehe! I, Lucia Vicente Todorica Simeo, toil tirelessly for the poor commoners! What noble noblesse oblige this is...!"

"...?"

If not for the chirping voice like a bird from behind, I probably would have.

"Ah, who are you! Commoners, are you? That poor attire! That ragged appearance! Indeed, you ignorant commoners!"

"... ."

The blonde bun-haired lady in luxurious dress thrust her fan at me with a snap.

"Then leave the elegant task of aiding these orphaned wretches to me and be on your way! A commoner helping commoners—what a laughable notion!"

Her theatrical clutching of her chest and lamenting as if in tragedy was truly bizarre.

"... ."

"L-Lady Asha. What is that person...?"

Eileen, who had sidled back to my side and hidden behind me, said that.

"Hmph, but still! As a chosen superior noble, I can certainly provide a meal for commoners! Commoners! If you're hungry, come to the Simeo estate, hehe!"

"... ."

"... ."

She snapped her fan open with a click and laughed, then, at our silence, awkwardly pocketed it and took the children's hands before leaving. Amid the clack-clack of her heels echoed "Hehe!" and "Commoners!" Precisely, without a single deviation, perfectly strange.

"..., all nobles are strange people."

So. Eileen too, and that dress-wearing noble lady too—they're both quite strange, so in my mind, nobles were becoming a gathering of oddballs.

"No, that's not it. But..., never mind."

Eileen couldn't even deny it fully, hanging her head with flushed ears showing.

Anyway. Leaving the storm-like strange person behind, I cast my spell in the alley. The fluffy illusion space formed and soon enveloped us in scenery.

As expected, Ain's figure appeared. He was leaving the alley, carrying the collapsed children along with the twin kids we traveled with.

And.

The two seemed quite close. She approached Ain, pouted her lips, lightly kicked his shin, and took one of the children.

"How dare she... ."

That sly woman sidling up to Ain under the pretext of the child—I...

"Ah, wait. Lady Asha, no matter how you look at it, this is a comrade moment...! No pink vibes at all! She just kicked him!"

Ah. Hm.

"I see."

"Yes, that's all it was... ."

Of course. Ain wouldn't turn his eyes to another woman while leaving me behind. He knows me too well to ignore what would happen if he did.

Thus, the illusion ended, and the lingering fluffy mana dispersed softly.

Yes, quite important and good scenes.

"Eileen."

"Y-Yes...?"

"We're going to the orphanage."

"Lady Asha, just in case, you know you absolutely can't kill her, right? She's Ain's comrade...?"

Lucia Vicente Todorica Simeo. For now, I need to go meet her. So thinking, I recalled her "Hoho!" laugh.

"Lady Asha, Lady Asha? No, slow down a bit...! Your pace is too fast..., no, why are you running!"

I dashed thud-thud toward the orphanage.

Pink vibes, huh.

"... ."

Grind—whether they exist or not, I can find out face-to-face.