Lumia's Determination
I'd finally stepped out of the guild, but—
“Hey. Could you back off a little? Everyone’s staring.”
“No.”
“Aren told you to let go. …Grr, get off. Let go already!”
Yeriel yanked at her, but Lumia didn’t budge an inch.
She really was stubborn. Didn’t this tire her out?
Maybe if I just closed my eyes, yanked my hand free, and slammed her to the ground she’d finally let go? No, she’d just cling right back on.
Besides, even if I shook her off and ran, I still had to go back to the guild tomorrow. If she camped out there waiting, things would only get worse before training even started.
One way or another, this had to be settled today.
Still supporting her weight, I tried to think.
‘If I read that system window again, I think I understand why she’s doing this…’
She must have felt the darkness that had always surrounded her since birth vanish because of my trait. She was probably terrified that if she left my side, the curse would reactivate and spread misfortune again.
‘But that’s ultimately her problem. It’s pitiful, sure, but this sudden clinging is a bit much, isn’t it?’
Ha. By tomorrow the whole guild would be buzzing with rumors, wouldn’t they? My earlier display had been pretty ridiculous, after all.
Looking around, passersby were shooting us disgusted or pitying glances before hurrying past with muttered contempt.
“Oh my. Two grown adults out in public, hugging like that?”
“What the—black hair and cat ears? That’s an Arar, isn’t it? They say just being near one brings bad luck. …Tch. I’m getting anxious for no reason. I should just hole up in the inn today.”
“That guy’s practically glued to her. He’s gonna die soon, right? Tsk tsk. No matter how desperate you are for a woman, that’s just stupid.”
‘Damn it. I can hear all of you, you bastards.’
Hm?
A faint tremor ran through my arms. Looking down, I saw Lumia’s slender body shaking while she clung to me with hands and feet.
If I lowered my head, her face would look perfectly composed, lips pressed tight. But she was trembling from the hurt she refused to show.
‘…After hearing her circumstances, I can’t bring myself to be harsh. First calm her down, then get her to let go and hear what she wants.’
“Haa.”
At my sigh, Lumia looked up at me.
Ignoring her gaze, I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her trembling frame.
“…Huh?”
Her body went rigid, eyes widening.
Pat, pat.
Freeing one hand, I gently stroked her cat ears and hair.
“…Haa.”
The shaking subsided. The tension seemed to drain from her as the legs she’d wrapped around me slowly loosened and dropped away.
“U-uu…”
Wait, why was she suddenly tearing up?
“Come on, don’t cry. Listen to me.”
She sniffled and nodded.
“I know it doesn’t sound like much, but right now, no one here can hurt you. Likewise, your curse won’t harm anyone else either.”
I brushed my hand off like I was flicking away trash and continued.
“So just forget the garbage people spit out as they walk by. Letting strangers’ words get to you only hurts yourself. Right?”
Press.
I gave her ear a gentle squeeze, then smoothed her tousled hair.
“If you’ve calmed down, can you let go now? I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry. I promise.”
“…Really?”
“Really.”
“Then… pinky promise.”
Lumia held out her little finger. She wanted to link them, didn’t she?
Meeting her eyes, I hooked my pinky with hers.
Once reassured, she finally released me completely.
[If the chaos is over, look to the side and smile, it says.]
‘To the side?’
Following the voice, I turned—and found Yeriel’s cheeks puffed out like balloons.
“…Yeriel. Why are your cheeks like that?”
“Hmph. Aren’s an idiot. You’re nice to any girl you meet?”
“No, I had to resolve the situation. And I felt sorry for her. You heard what those people were saying, right?”
“I know. I know, okay? Whatever! Just give me your hand!”
Yeriel grabbed my hand and planted it on her own head.
“Pet me. More than you did for her!”
Pat, pat, pat.
I ruffled her hair vigorously.
“Feeling better now?”
“Yeah! It’s just… you were hugging and petting and comforting someone you just met, so I got a little jealous. Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine.”
Poke.
Just as that conversation seemed to wrap up, Lumia jabbed my side.
“Right. Time to finish things with you. So, what exactly do you want from me?”
“First… speak casually.”
Fair enough. I’d been feeling awkward using formal speech too.
“Got it. So why did you cause that scene at the guild? If this is going to take a while, should we head to wherever you’re staying and talk there?”
“Okay. Follow me.”
If I brought Lumia to the inn where Yeriel and I were staying, there was a chance we’d all get kicked out. Even though my trait suppressed her darkness, proving it on the spot would be difficult.
Going to her place would avoid that problem, so it made sense.
Following her led us to an unfamiliar spot.
‘A carriage stop?’
Come to think of it, even just the 4th District was huge. Of course there would be transportation.
The knight order’s entrance to the 4th District was only an hour or two’s walk away, so I’d never bothered thinking about carriages until now.
“Is it far enough to need a carriage? Another district?”
“No. The outer edge of the 4th District.”
Not too far, then.
“Five bronze coins per person.”
We each paid and climbed aboard.
…
“We’ve arrived.”
After about an hour, the driver announced our stop. We stepped out.
Maybe because the roads were well-maintained, the ride had been surprisingly comfortable—no jarring bumps or sore backs like the rickety fantasy carriages I’d imagined.
“This is it.”
The building looked a bit shabbier than the inn we’d stayed at yesterday.
When we opened the door, an old man greeted Lumia.
“Lumia, dear. Did everything go well? …Oh my, bringing guests home? And two of them! That’s a surprise.”
So he was the innkeeper.
“Hello. We have something important to discuss with Lumia. Would it be all right if we talked in her room?”
“No reason it wouldn’t be. Go on and chat. If you need food, just come down and let me know.”
After thanking him, we followed Lumia up to the second floor.
“The innkeeper’s a good person. He never discriminated against me.”
I nodded.
“Yeah. He seems like one. Shall we talk now?”
“Okay. I’ll get straight to the point.”
Lumia pointed at me.
“I want to party with you. If possible… for a long time. Forever.”
“Is that because the darkness of your curse disappears when you’re near me?”
She nodded once, then shook her head.
“At first, yes. But that’s not the only reason.”
Then what?
“…The darkness that killed my parents and ruined my life vanishes when I stand beside you. That’s still the biggest reason. You have no idea how shocked I was.”
She stepped closer. I stayed still, curious what she’d do, and she gently wrapped her arms around me.
“W-what are you doing?! Get off him right now!”
Ignoring Yeriel’s startled shout, Lumia spoke.
“I’ve never really felt positive emotions in my life. But today, when you held me and calmed me down… I felt something strange.”
“…”
“It was definitely… much warmer and more pleasant than any good feeling I’ve had before.”
Lumia looked up at me.
“Everyone else is the same. They hate even standing near me or letting their clothes brush against mine. They treat me like a walking plague, not a person.”
I could understand their perspective, but for the person on the receiving end, it must have been hell.
“In the middle of all that, you’re the only one who held me kindly and stroked my ears. That’s why I want to stay by your side even more.”
…She must have been starving for affection. Remembering the conversation I’d overheard at the guild, it wasn’t hard to understand.
“I may not look it, but I’m a witch who specializes in black magic. As a cat beastman, my senses are sharp and my stats aren’t bad either. I want to keep partying with you. Is that okay?”
What now?
Since I’d already formed a party with Yeriel, I couldn’t decide alone.
“Yeriel, what do you think? We’re a party of two right now. If you don’t want her, I’ll turn her down.”
Yeriel closed her eyes and thought it over.
“First, I’ll speak casually too.”
“Good.”
“I only have one question. You said you use black magic, right? Does that mean you can cast curse spells?”
Lumia answered immediately.
“Yeah. Curses fall under black magic, so I can. They’re not my specialty, but with the right catalyst, I can cast most basic curses.”
“Then can you use the ‘Tracking Arrow Curse’ too?”
Lumia’s eyes rolled upward as she thought.
“…Yeah. It’s just barely within my level. But I’ll need the target’s blood or hair. It won’t work on anyone else.”
Yeriel grinned at me.
“Aren, I was going to object at first, but I think we should accept her. Did you hear that? She can use the curse you’ve been looking for.”
I nodded.
“Honestly, I still don’t like what happened at the guild, and I don’t want to see her clinging to you either. But right now, she’s exactly the person you need. I’ll agree.”
Yeriel’s heart was deeper than I’d thought. If she’d opposed it, I really would have refused.
“All right. Then it’s decided. Should we introduce ourselves properly? My name’s Aren. I’m a frontliner and dealer who uses a one-handed sword. What’s your name?”
“Call me Lumia. My specialty is black magic.”
“I’m Yeriel, a priestess of the Church of Light. …Hey, stop clinging to Aren all the time!”
Now that we had a new party member, it would be nice if everyone got along…
Anyway, talking about the curse wouldn’t help until we obtained Isaac’s blood or hair tomorrow at the guild.
For today, we should just focus on bonding as a trio.
Tomorrow we could take a carriage to the guild, finish training, then figure out how to get a strand of Isaac’s hair or make him bleed a little. The guy was always boasting—I could probably provoke him into a light sparring match.
In any case, nothing erased awkwardness and built camaraderie like good food and drink.
“Okay! To celebrate Lumia joining, I’ll buy dinner and drinks. Yeriel, come down with me first.”
“Yeah! I was just getting hungry anyway.”
“Lumia, want to change into something comfortable before coming down? We’ll order ahead and wait.”
She nodded.
We headed downstairs and ordered food and alcohol.
While we waited at the table, I chatted with Yeriel.
“Yeriel, thanks for earlier. I thought you’d just say you didn’t want a new party member, but instead you supported her because she could help me with the curse…”
“It’s fine. I saw how disappointed you looked. How could I object after that? Don’t worry about it.”
Before I could say more, Lumia came down from the second floor and took a seat.
…That was her comfortable outfit? Well, not my problem.
“Oh, right—Yeriel. Aren’t priests not supposed to drink?”
“It’s fine! The Church of Light isn’t that strict.”
“Really? Great. Then raise your glasses, everyone. To our new party member Lumia, and to the future of our party!”
Clink.
Man, when that chaos erupted at the guild, I’d wondered how it would end. Who would’ve guessed it would result in recruiting a new member? Life really was unpredictable.
Rest tonight. Starting tomorrow, it was back to running.