Roholan Village (2)
“Ugh… that was exhausting…”
I stepped out of the inn with Rubia and endured a truly dreadful stretch of shopping. The village wasn’t especially large, but the shops were decent enough, so we wandered for ages buying everything we needed…
“You worked hard, Noah. How’s the new outfit? Getting used to it? I never expected to find Eastern-style clothes here.”
“Mmm…”
Of everything we’d bought, Rubia seemed to like my clothes the most. I couldn’t make out the design in detail, but from the feel of it under my fingers, she was right—it was Eastern. Not Korean, though… more like a modified shrine maiden’s robe? Or a yukata? Something along those lines, anyway. No buttons; just a wide strip of cloth wrapped and tied around the waist.
The material was supposedly made from the hide of a mutant ogre that had once appeared on the Halbion Plain. The right sleeve was long, but the left was sleeveless. Had they run out of material halfway through?
“Is it uncomfortable?”
“N-no… the top is fine…”
“And the bottom?”
“Ah, the bottom’s… comfortable too, of course. There’s nothing… blocking it at all… ugh…”
I clamped my legs tightly together and tugged down the hem with one hand—though it barely covered half my thighs. The fabric was nice, it was comfortable, it was cool… everything about it was good.
Except it was a dress.
A one-piece, top and bottom connected. And ridiculously short…!
One wrong move and I’ll be showing the whole village my panties…
They definitely ran out of material…
And even though I’d sworn I’d rather die than wear it… I’d literally said I’d rather die…!!
It was the only size that fit me. On top of that, after Rubia exchanged a few words with the shopkeeper, he’d suddenly offered it for free… so I had no choice but to put it on. A full fifteen-gold dress, free of charge. If it hadn’t been free, I never would have worn it. Seriously…
Good grief… how many jellies is that worth…
“I’m so glad. We got it right before they were going to throw it out. Hehe.”
“A-are you sure…?”
“About what?”
“That it was about to be discarded… Th-the man clearly said it was fifteen gold… and then after he talked with you in the corner, he suddenly gave it away for free.”
Rubia looked at me steadily and answered in a perfectly casual tone.
“Oh, come on… I barely said anything. It just looked like old stock, so I asked how long it had been sitting there.”
“Really…?”
“Of course.”
She’s so confident about it…
Was it honestly just good luck?
While I was still half-doubting, Aileen—no, Rubia—smacked her lips and said,
“We should have bought underwear while we were at it…”
“W-what…! Underwear is… only for people like y-you, Rubia. I… I don’t need it. Bandages are enough…”
Rubia’s size would be a problem without proper support, but me… I was fine. Completely fine. Bandages were all I needed. Really…
“True. Bandages aren’t bad. They’re easy to undo, after all.”
“W-what did you say?! U-undo… what are you undoing…!”
I felt a strangely sticky gaze and wrapped my arms around myself, turning slightly away.
“Undo what? Don’t you change your underwear, Noah?”
“I… I change it every day, but…”
“See?”
“…Yes.”
Am I the weird one…?
Her tone and the look she gave me had definitely felt off. Or had they…?
“The robe should be ready the day after tomorrow. Just hang in there a little longer.”
“I guess I have no choice…”
The robe I’d been wearing had been completely shredded, so we’d ordered a new one. Other people could just buy something off the rack, but I was so short I had no choice but to commission a custom piece. Two whole days of walking around in nothing but this dress, no robe…
My mood sank, so I rummaged through the paper bag stuffed full of jellies. Touching the soft candies made me feel a little better. I picked out a few and held them out to Rubia.
“Want some too, Rubia…?”
“They’re too sweet for me. You eat them for me, Noah.”
“O-oh? Okay.”
Well, can’t be helped. I tried to share, but I guess I’ll just have to eat them all myself. Heh heh…
I stuffed the whole handful into my mouth at once.
Chew chew—
“Wow… strawberry! And… um… I can’t tell.”
Eating them all together made it hard to distinguish the flavors. But Rubia thought these were too sweet? They just tasted good to me!
I savored the blissful taste spreading through my mouth and the soft, chewy texture, swinging both legs back and forth. After wearing pants for so long, the skirt left me feeling strangely empty; I couldn’t keep my legs still. The cool breeze brushing against my bare skin felt nice, too…
I swallowed the jellies and dug through the bag for the next one. What flavor would it be this time? After a long rummage I pulled out one that felt especially promising.
Here we go…!
“Mm. That’s—”
“A-ah, don’t tell me…! Not knowing is half the fun, so you don’t have to say.”
I was holding a jelly in one hand and Rubia’s hand in the other, so I couldn’t use Qi Sensing. Not that I could tell jelly colors even with it active, of course.
“Is that so…?”
I nodded as I popped the candy into my mouth.
“Mmm…! Apple!”
I knew it felt right!
My mood lifted even more. My legs swung harder. Sweet things really were the best.
“The village is so quiet. It’s nice enough that I wouldn’t mind staying longer than planned.”
I gulped down the jelly I’d been chewing and answered her.
“But Rubia, didn’t you say we didn’t have time…?”
That was why we’d taken the dangerous shortcut and ridden horses instead of a carriage…
Wait.
Huh…?
“W-wait! R-Rubia! The horse…! Where’s our horse?!”
Come to think of it, I couldn’t sense the horse at all…!
“Ah… it died. A gnoll ate it, apparently. Poor thing…”
The jelly in my hand slipped and hit the ground with a soft plop.
“Eh…?”
I’d completely forgotten about it, but… i-it died…?
No… uh… it was annoying and irritating, sure. But still… dead…?
It had walked carefully even when I held the reins. It understood me pretty well… It had spat on me once, but even so…
It had felt a bit like keeping a pet. I’d thought that even if I didn’t like it, we might get along someday…
My throat tightened.
“Ugh, uh… i-it… it died…?”
“Pfft—! Puhahaha! I’m kidding.”
“Huh…? Kidding? Th-then it’s not dead?”
“No. It’s not dead. I left it at the stable. All our luggage is there too, so don’t worry. It’s alive and well.”
“R-really…?”
“Yes. We’ll go see it later.”
Whew… thank goodness…
As annoying as it had been… it had carried us well, so I’d grown a little fond of it.
But… I didn’t remember bringing it here…?
Huh…?
The sound. I hadn’t heard a single hoofbeat…?
“B-but… I didn’t hear any hoofbeats on the way here… You’re not lying that it’s alive when it’s actually dead, are you…? Like… b-bringing a different horse and saying it’s the same one…?”
An unpleasant memory surfaced, and I squeezed Rubia’s hand tightly.
Back in middle school, I’d bought a chick for five hundred won in front of the school gate. One day its cry had sounded strangely different, so I’d asked my mother if it was the same chick. She’d kept insisting it was, until my relentless questioning finally forced the truth out of her.
The chick I’d raised had died… and this was a new one. She’d secretly replaced it because she was afraid I’d be too sad… saying this one was more expensive and would be healthier…
But still!
I’d… I’d spent a whole week raising it…
I hadn’t even been able to bury it with my own hands…
I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye…
Ugh… I feel like crying again.
So.
It’s not like that, right? Right, Rubia…?
Rubia stayed silent for a moment, then carefully opened her mouth.
“…I put hoof-protection boots on it. Its hooves were badly worn.”
“Ohh…! You put shoes on it. Th-then it’s really alive, right? Let’s go see it together later!”
“Yes. Of course. But Noah.”
Her voice had grown strangely quiet.
“Y-yes…?”
“This might be… a bit of a sensitive question, but…”
Her grip on my hand tightened.
“Without your greatsword… can you not use Qi Sensing?”
“Uh, um… ah…?”
Sh-she figured it out…!
Emergency!!!
It must have been what I just said that gave it away…?
“N-no…”
Uh… but Rubia told me her secret.
Is it right for me to keep hiding mine?
“Umm…”
Just… tell her.
The Rubia I know… is trustworthy.
I leaned carefully closer and whispered as softly as I could.
“That’s right… Without my greatsword, I can’t sense anything at all.”
Then I gently loosened our hands and hooked my pinky around hers.
“So promise me… you won’t tell anyone. Even Hermila doesn’t know… This is a secret just between you and me. Okay?”
No answer came.
“R-Rubia…?”
“A secret… just between you and me.”
“Yes.”
Her pinky squeezed mine tightly.
“All right. Then we’ve become… really close friends who share a secret, haven’t we?”
Hah…!
“R-really close friends…!”
“Hehe… yes.”
My chest feels warm…
“So, earlier you asked if it was all right even though we don’t have much time, right?”
Her pinky slipped free, and our fingers laced together again.
“Yes. That’s why we rode the horse… and took the dangerous path.”
“Right… My original plan was ten days at most.”
“Th-then… we should leave right away!”
“It’s fine. Even if we’re a little late… it’ll probably be all right.”
Rubia let out a sigh heavy with hesitation.
“Mmm… You said you ran away, right?”
“Yes…”
“Th-then… people will come after you again, won’t they? Like those knights last time?”
“…Yes.”
“What do you want to do, Rubia?”
We were standing so close that her hair brushed against my face. She must have turned to look at me.
“I… I still… don’t want to go back.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes… It’s pathetic, isn’t it?”
I shook my head.
“No. Not at all. Then, Rubia… shall I help you?”
Shall I save you?
“How?”
“I just have to beat up anyone who tries to take you away, right?”
“You, Noah…?”
“You think I can’t?”
With my free hand I thumped my chest.
“Th-those noobs… I’ll crush them all.”
I am Rubia’s super-pretty best friend, an eight-year veteran of Black Sun, and former PvP rank two.
I’ll win every time.
“Noobs… pfft… hahaha! You called them noobs?”
“O-of course! Don’t you trust me…?!”
Her hand stroked my hair.
“I do. Of course I do. If I can’t trust you, Noah… who else could I trust?”
“Right? Then just trust me and take it easy, Rubia.”
“All right. I’m counting on you, Noah. Protect me.”
“For how long?”
Rubia fell silent for a moment. Then, with a smile so bright I could feel it even without seeing it, she answered.
“Forever.”
Until the day I die.
“Okay.”
I’ll protect you forever.
“Just trust me.”
I’ll make sure you never die, Rubia.
No matter what it takes.