Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (5)
Chapter 10. Stubbornness and Arrogance (5)
The dream Chae-eun had was from when she was very young.
A dream of a time she now remembered only as a lingering "feeling," most of the actual memories already gone.
A dream of a time she didn't want to lose any more of, but which inevitably, slowly faded from her memory—and for that very reason, a time she missed all the more.
She didn't know if her surroundings were bright. Her eyes were closed, after all. No, even if she opened them, it didn't seem like anything would come into Chae-eun's field of vision.
Chae-eun was holding her mother in her arms.
She was too big now—Chae-eun had become an adult, so she couldn't fit completely into that embrace like she had as a child, but her mother was holding her tight and stroking her hair.
"......Mom."
That was how she knew it was a dream. Because it was a dream of a time that could never come again.
Because she knew her mother was no longer in this world.
But even knowing that, Chae-eun couldn't bring herself to pull away from that embrace.
A Hero's job is to protect someone. Whether that's because of set rules or because they wanted to do it themselves, it didn't matter.
Chae-eun was certain she would never feel that sensation again: being held tightly by someone who seemed capable of shielding her completely from every threat in the world.
She put strength into her arms and burrowed deeper into that embrace—
Chae-eun felt something strange.
Feeling a sensation in a dream wasn't strange. But usually, when you woke up, none of that sensation remained. The warmth or softness felt in a dream was just an illusion created by the brain, after all.
But right now, it felt so vivid, so detailed.
The warmth and softness against her face. And the slender body she felt with both arms. At her fingertips, she could even faintly feel hard ribs through the clothing.
"......!?"
Startled by that sensation, Chae-eun pulled her face back. She hastily released her arms and retreated, and what she saw was—
"Did you sleep well?"
The being Chae-eun had been clinging to all night smiled and spoke to her.
Skin so white it seemed like it would never tan in the sun. Softly gleaming golden hair. And amid that hair, a red streak of dye like an accent.
Blue eyes, like looking into clear water, gazed down at Chae-eun.
As if having discovered something amusing, those eyes were narrowed.
"......."
Chae-eun felt her back grow damp with cold sweat for the first time in a long while.
Without a word, Chae-eun slowly pulled her arms away from that body.
Anna's body heat hadn't yet fully dissipated from the clothes, so the places where their bodies had been touching were warm.
There was a faint smell of alcohol and a trace of sweat. Most of it was coming from Ria.
Ria slowly got up from the bed and went to sit at the edge of it.
Then she buried her face in her hands.
"......What did I say?"
"Who knows. I don't really remember."
It was a voice that clearly did remember.
Ria flopped sideways onto the bed, as if collapsing.
And thrashed about wildly.
"Well, don't worry. I'm a very understanding person, you see. I have the magnanimity to understand someone who drank alcohol for the 'first time in her life' and passed out."
Ria wanted to deny something, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
"Anyway, Ria, we should get going soon. You still smell like alcohol, so you should probably wash up before it becomes a problem...... Ah."
And then, as if there were something she was worried about—in a slightly exaggerated tone, Anna added:
"But you've sobered up completely, right? If you happened to grab onto me again while I'm taking my clothes off—"
Ria shot up from her spot.
Anna made a startled expression at the sight, but Ria didn't lunge at Anna—she dashed toward the shower room.
Then she scrubbed herself as thoroughly as she could and brushed her teeth just as diligently.
She was doing everything she could to get rid of the smell of alcohol.
*
Ah, she has a cute side too.
.......
No, that wasn't it. If someone was pretty to begin with, most things they did would look cute. Besides, Ria wasn't the kind of girl who would do anything that made that face feel wasted.
I waited until Ria finished, then traded places with her in the shower and washed myself thoroughly.
Last night, because of Ria, I hadn't been able to wash, so showering today felt especially refreshing.
Hmm, if I put it that way, it might be a little misleading. All Ria had done was cling to me all night and sleep soundly.
After washing up, I put on underwear and clothes, pressed my hair with a towel to squeeze out the water, and stepped out of the shower room. Ria was standing there with a rigid face.
But her face was flushed bright red.
I considered teasing her one more time, but decided against it before I started feeling too sorry for her.
*
We went to meet the princess at the appointed time.
The princess's name was Emeli Geurond.
Actually, in the novel, her name only appeared once, so I hadn't remembered it properly. That was inevitable—when the Dwarf Princess first appeared, she was already dead.
"Princess."
"Sister."
When I lightly lifted my skirt and bowed my head, the princess did the same.
Then she guided the two of us to the table.
On the table were luxurious glasses that looked as if they had been carved from crystal. They were a bit larger than the glasses we'd drunk from yesterday. Perhaps they were made so you could drink with ice in them, not just pour alcohol. They were already filled with ice.
Next to them was alcohol with a color similar to what we'd drunk yesterday.
Seeing three glasses on the table, Ria let out a small groan. The princess seemed to hear it, because she glanced our way, then gestured to a servant standing in the corner of the room and whispered quietly. The servant gave a slight bow of the head, left the room briefly, and returned around the time we were settling into our seats at the table, carrying a bottle full of clear liquid.
"Dwarves certainly seem to love their alcohol."
"It is quite remarkable, isn't it? With Magic, even in a barren place like this, we can cultivate enough grain to feed everyone inside and still have plenty left over to make alcohol."
The princess answered my words.
There was pride in that voice. Pride in the fact that they handled Mana so well.
But at the same time, it was also a voice that carried wariness toward me.
"For Dwarves, Mana is something that cannot be left out. Gnomes might be content just being able to mine stone, but for us, without it, society itself cannot be maintained."
"I didn't come here to harm the Dwarven Kingdom."
"......Our priests seem to think you have come to harm us, Sister."
The princess let out a small breath.
"I don't know much about your world, Sister. I only know that it isn't connected to our country, and that the beings we worship are different."
"Dwarves...... worship Mana itself, then?"
The princess nodded heavily.
"In that case, the reason you're welcoming me like this is."
"Because you are trading with the Gnomes, Sister."
The princess said.
"You must already know that our relationship with the Gnomes is not particularly good."
The princess's gaze moved toward the ring finger of my right hand. The ring the Gnomes had made for us was steadily accumulating my power. Probably, if I released that power at a necessary moment, it would even be possible to destroy some of the Dwarven Kingdom's functions.
From the Dwarves' perspective, we were walking bombs.
Even so, they had accepted our request and let us in, probably because that same power was so appealing to them.
And—
"I heard you mentioned there was a problem concerning my personal safety."
"Yes."
"That I...... am going to be kidnapped by someone."
"Yes, that is what I said."
"And that it was a Prophecy from the god you believe in."
I remained silent at those words.
Because I don't consider that being to be a god.
But speaking that way in this situation wouldn't help with persuasion. If I said I was acting on the words of a being I didn't even believe was a god, which Dwarf would trust that story?
"I have previously prevented a dangerous situation with that Prophecy."
"Unfortunately, that is information we cannot verify."
The princess said that and poured alcohol into her glass. It was a strong liquor whose smell alone seemed like it would make you drunk.
Probably, from their perspective, this wasn't much different from drinking tea.
"Then if I give you information convincing enough, will you hear me out?"
The princess's gaze turned to me.
"Of course. If that 'Precognition' can truly be called a supernatural phenomenon."
The princess sipped her whiskey and glanced at the servants waiting in the room. They withdrew before I had to ask, giving me room to speak freely.
Well, they might still be eavesdropping after leaving—but I hadn't come here to quibble over that.
"Isn't the Dwarven Kingdom researching Gates?"
The princess's hand stopped.
Frozen in the middle of bringing the glass to her lips, the princess stared at me with wide, round eyes.