Karahan (4)
“Uh, Unni...?”
“Hmm?”
Hepais called out to me, her face a picture of pure confusion.
“Just now... what did you say?”
“Noah, Hepais. Why don’t we finish eating first? It would be better to wrap up quickly and go wash up.”
“Huh? No, just now Noah Un—”
“...Hepais. Please.”
“Ah, uh... sure? Hehe...”
Rubia cut her off, gripping Hepais’s shoulder, and urgently pointed toward the campsite. Then she practically dragged the other woman along as she walked.
Hepais glanced at me for a moment before scurrying after Rubia.
Yeah... I grabbed her too hard, didn’t I.
Next time I’ll be gentler.
I trudged after them, passing through the tent flap Rubia had set up, and a mouthwatering aroma slammed into my nose.
The menu was exactly what she’d promised earlier—barbecue and mushroom soup!
“Noah, come sit down already.”
Rubia patted the spot right beside her with a cheerful pat-pat.
All three of them had looked terrible a moment ago, but now they seemed almost fine.
Is it because something delicious is right in front of us?
“Once again, I’m truly sorry. Noah... was it?”
“Ah, uh... y-yes...”
The woman who had looked so startled earlier now offered me a gentle smile that was the complete opposite of that shock, and bowed her head deeply.
“My name is... Mariel. I’m sorry, and... thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, Noah, I really would have... twice already... hic—truly... thank you so much...”
“Uh, um... y-you’ve been through a lot...”
Tears pattered onto the ground, so I gently patted her shoulder.
After what felt like a long while, Rubia handed Mariel a bowl brimming with soup and chased away the gloomy atmosphere.
“Mariel. Why don’t we eat first and talk afterward?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you...”
“This one’s yours, Noah.”
“Whoa...”
Unlike Mariel, I received a plate piled high with meat!
“Here, Hepais, you too.”
“Yeah, thanks...”
Hepais’s bowl had a more modest portion of meat.
Is that why her voice sounds so weak...?
“Mmm... Hepais, eat a little more meat...”
I transferred a few pieces from my overflowing plate into her bowl.
“Huh? Unni, you’re only eating that little?”
“Ah, n-no... th-that’s... i-it’s fine.”
Actually, it’s not fine at all...
I was holding the greatsword in one hand, so I’d just gently shaken the plate to slide the meat over...
Way too much went across!
I should’ve used a fork even if it was a pain...
“That face doesn’t look fine at all.”
Rubia quietly laughed at me and added a few more pieces of meat to my plate.
“Th-then you won’t have enough, Rubia...”
“There’s plenty more here, so eat as much as you want. It’s fine.”
“Mmm... okay. Thank you...”
I bowed my head and picked up my fork.
“Oh, and Mariel—don’t just settle for the soup. Have some barbecue too.”
“Ah, no. This is more than enou—”
“It’s fine. Eat plenty.”
Rubia smiled brightly and handed Mariel a plate loaded with meat and vegetables.
And so a warm, lively dinner began.
We talked about everything from Hepais’s sleep-talking habits to Rubia’s cooking experience... and even my own drunken antics. Stories flew back and forth.
I found it hard to join in, so I just quietly chewed my meat.
Mariel, meanwhile, started drinking the soup like water.
She must have been starving.
I quietly poured some water and set it in front of her.
“T-take it slow...”
“Mmph—yes. Thank you.”
Even while bowing her head, Mariel never took the plate from her mouth. After that she downed four more bowls.
“Whew, did everyone eat well?”
“Yeah. Rubia Unni’s cooking is amazing...”
“M-my stomach... feels like it’s going to split...”
“Slurp-slurp—haah... that was delicious. Priestess... it’s an honor, truly...”
Hepais gave a little clap.
I kept rubbing my stuffed belly.
And Mariel drained the last of the soup in one go, then bowed her head over and over.
“Ugh—! Let’s go wash up already! Cold water, hot water, I don’t care—I just want to get clean!”
“Alright. Let’s tidy this up first and then go.”
“Then I’ll clean up here, so please go ahead.”
Mariel sprang to her feet and began gathering the dishes.
“What? No. We’ll do it together. And we’ll all go wash together too.”
“Ah, no. How could I dare join the Priestess...”
“Mariel.”
“Y-yes.”
Rubia’s suddenly firm voice froze Mariel in place.
“I already told you I’m not a priestess right now... If you keep calling me that, I’ll have no choice.”
Rubia took the plate from Mariel’s hands and continued.
“Then I’ll speak as a priestess. Rest comfortably, and when it’s time to wash, we’ll go together. Mariel, you’re a patient right now. Even small movements like this need to be careful.”
“Whoa...”
I let out a tiny gasp of admiration at Rubia’s cool display.
Hepais had the same reaction.
As for Mariel...
“Hic... sob...”
She started crying again.
Rubia sighed as if she’d expected it and began clearing the dishes at top speed.
Mmm... I should help too.
I stood right up and hurriedly gathered the plates into one pile.
That got the sprawled-out Hepais on her feet as well; she started collecting forks and water cups.
“Noah, you rest too.”
“Eh...”
My hands froze mid-gather.
W-why me?
I’m not a patient!
I stood there frozen until Rubia came over and whispered quietly by my ear.
“If Mariel is left sitting alone, she’ll definitely feel awkward. So you sit over there with her, Noah.”
“Ah... you think so...?”
Well, yeah.
Even I, a member of this party, had felt uncomfortable just sitting still by myself.
How much worse must it be for Mariel?
“Yes. Go on.”
Rubia gave my backside a couple of encouraging pats.
“Mmm... o-okay.”
I had no choice but to dust off my hands and slowly walk over to where Mariel sat.
It felt like approaching a sleeping cat...
The moment she saw me, Mariel flinched hard and shot to her feet.
“Ah, uh... p-please sit...”
“No. I’ll sit once Noah does.”
“Auh... i-it’s really fine...”
“It’s fine.”
Awkward... so incredibly awkward.
I’d rather fight a magic beast!
I wasn’t this tense even when I took down that minotaur earlier!
Cold sweat pouring down my back, I plopped down beside Mariel.
Only then did she carefully sit as well.
“...Thank you once again.”
“Y-yes...”
Ah... I can’t breathe...
In the distance, Hepais was cheerfully clearing the table with a bright smile, and I envied her so much it hurt...
“Alright then... I know it’s hard, but could you tell us what happened?”
We’d washed up in the valley Rubia had mentioned earlier—though it was a bit of a walk—and finished getting ready for bed before lighting a fire.
Not a regular campfire, but one inside a stone thing that looked like a chest of drawers Hepais had brought...
It was so fascinating I’d poked and prodded it all over until I burned myself... and got thoroughly scolded by Rubia for it...
“Ah... yes. First of all, after arriving in Urusphier everything was fine. But that night—”
After everything that had happened, the atmosphere had softened a little compared to before, and Mariel’s story continued.
She ran a small flower shop in Roholan, and... well, with the trade route opening and all that, she’d come to Urusphier to discuss related business.
After wrapping up the negotiations smoothly, she’d been on her way back to her lodging when she was kidnapped.
The culprits, just as Rubia had said, were an organization called the Red Scorpion.
She’d clearly seen the vivid red scorpion tattoo on the kidnapper’s neck, so there was no doubt.
When Mariel tried to talk about what happened after the kidnapping, she burst into tears again, and Rubia barely managed to calm her down.
“Haa... I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. Cry as much as you need to. It’s okay.”
Mariel accepted a warm cup of coffee, curling her body tightly and trembling all over.
“While they were... doing all sorts of terrible things to me... an opportunity came up.”
“An opportunity?”
“Yes... those bastards had a potted plant they treasured. But... one of the other people kidnapped with me smashed that pot...”
Mariel had just stopped crying, but fresh tears poured from her eyes once more.
“Th-that person... while they were beating him... I... r-ran... hic...”
A plant they treasured?
Rubia, still gently patting Mariel’s back, carefully spoke up.
“Could you tell us what kind of plant it was? Any features... or what it looked like?”
“Huu... w-well... it wasn’t a small pot. At least as big as my torso... the color was purple... and the vines were all tangled up messily... Ah! The leaves were shaped just like teardrops—”
“Huh? Purple with teardrop shapes?”
Hepais suddenly lifted her head and cut Mariel off.
“Yes. It looked like that... and once a day they would pluck a leaf. Then they’d take it to the boss, saying...”
“Was the plant’s name by any chance ‘Eliximona’?”
“Ah, yes! I think I heard the name Eliximona. H-how did you know? I’ve never heard that name before...”
“Ah... no way... that can’t be...”
Hepais’s expression hardened into something grave.
“Hepais? Are you okay?”
“Ah, th-this... it might sound weird, but... first of all, my master would never do something like that, okay? Ah, uh... so—”
“I believe you. So just calm down and tell us.”
Rubia gently took the shoulders of the teary-eyed, rambling Hepais and soothed her with a soft voice.
After catching her breath for a while, the words that finally left Hepais’s mouth were enough to throw the entire situation into chaos—something truly shocking.
“Eliximona is... the only plant... Master Yuria ever created. And... it’s also the only one left in this entire world...”