Is Ilena Too Open-Minded?
Is Ilena too open-minded? “A loving gaze? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a stretch?” “Absolutely not! A woman’s intuition is telling me so!” When I seemed unconvinced, Kana raised her voice in frustration. “But I’m not sure. Because, actually, Ilena and I were…”
“Were what?”
“We were basically enemies.”
I had cleverly rephrased the part about fighting each other as Demon King and Hero, but Kana simply nodded right away. “That can happen. People often grow fond of each other after fighting. Look at Hilda and Nathan.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“They even threw punches at each other, remember?”
Now that I thought about it, Hilda and Nathan had fought every time their eyes met, at least from what I remembered. Hilda would pick a fight over Nathan being taller than her, and they’d argue about who got to eat the better bread in the evening. They never reconciled after their brawls, either. The rest of us had suffered so much trying to make them make up, only for the two of them to suddenly fall for each other and get married.
“Hehe. Maybe all that intense fighting led to some equally intense physical stuff later. The sound of skin slapping together was just…!”
“Kana…”
I couldn’t stop this wild girl no matter how hard I tried.
“Anyway, it’s obvious that Ilena has feelings for you. Just think about it. Would she come all the way to this remote place if she only saw you as a decent guy?”
Still, there was one decisive reason why Ilena and I could never be together. I was human, and she was a demon. On top of that, we each represented our own kind. Even if we did end up together, the people around us would never allow it.
“Anyway!” Kana jabbed her finger directly at my face and shouted. “I admit that Ilena is incredibly beautiful and graceful. I also admit that she likes you enough to follow you to a backwater village like this and live here! But…”
She had been shouting with great momentum, but her voice grew smaller as she approached what she really wanted to say.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give you up so easily.”
“Sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“Then don’t say anything. Just remember it. That I like you too.”
After saying her piece, Kana took a deep breath, then gracefully stood up from her seat.
“I feel much better now. Let’s head back.”
She held her hand out to me.
“You can at least hold my hand, right? Like you did when we were kids!”
“Sure. Let’s go back together. Everyone’s probably waiting.”
“Ehehe…!”
When I took her hand, Kana beamed with a bright smile.
Meanwhile, at the Youth Association gathering after Roen had left. Right after he departed, Malcolm immediately spoke to Ilena, who couldn’t hide her worried expression. His face was full of unconcealed bewilderment.
“Ilena. What on earth did you mean by that?”
“What did I mean?”
“Roen said it himself. That the two of you know everything there is to know about each other!”
“Even if you say that…”
Malcolm was going crazy with frustration. But Ilena, who hadn’t understood Roen’s meaning, simply looked confused. Why is Malcolm acting like this all of a sudden? What did I do? Wasn’t he supposed to think well of me…?
Instead, she simply blinked at Malcolm’s heated attitude, growing more flustered.
“Didn’t you tell me that you and Roen were just coworkers?”
“I did.”
“Perhaps…”
In his impatience, Malcolm crossed a line. “Perhaps you were lying to me?”
“Lying? Me…?”
“No matter how I think about it, it’s strange. Coming all the way to this remote place just to find someone who was supposedly a simple coworker? It doesn’t make sense!”
Ilena thought it was odd how Malcolm was suddenly interrogating her, but when she considered his words, she realized he wasn’t entirely wrong. The setting that she and Roen had worked at the same guild was something they had thrown together in a hurry.
Since things had come to this, she decided to flesh out the story a little more.
“You’re right. Now that I think about it, we weren’t just simple coworkers.”
“S-see! If you weren’t just coworkers, then what exactly were you?”
“Hmm…”
The answer she gave from here on was crucial. I’m still in the middle of studying human common sense. If I make a mistake, it’ll be obvious something’s off. That would cause trouble for Roen, and in the worst case, I might have to leave the village. That absolutely cannot happen!
Countless thoughts raced through Ilena’s mind in that short moment. Above all, she reconsidered what kind of relationship she and Roen had actually shared.
I probably shouldn’t say we tried to kill each other. Instead, if I think about what we did together…
After much deliberation, she gave her answer.
“We were people who met at night.”
“Excuse me? W-what did you just…”
Malcolm couldn’t continue, his face drenched in shock, while Dimitri, who had been listening with great interest, burst out laughing.
“Bwahaha! Roen hyung and Ilena are both so bold!”
“Bold? Me and Roen…?”
They had indeed been bold in a different sense. They had fought with fiery eyes, each trying to kill the other. Malcolm wore a look of utter despair while Dimitri laughed heartily. But Ilena had simply been talking about what happened when she went to the market with Roen. Seeing Malcolm’s reaction, she felt dizzy, wondering if she had said something wrong, but then seeing Dimitri laugh made her think she had responded cleverly. She was confused.
Still, I can’t stop now!
“People who met at night? So what exactly did you do with Roen at night?”
“Well, you see…”
Since the situation didn’t seem to be going too badly, Ilena decided not to push too hard. “We drank together until we were properly drunk.”
“I see. That much is fine. It’s perfectly natural.”
Though his brows furrowed, Malcolm nodded. He figured that for young men and women in an open-minded city rather than the countryside, drinking together was natural enough.
But when Ilena saw his reaction and thought she had answered correctly, she gathered her courage to take one more step. As naturally as possible…
“And then we slept together.”
“Pardon…?”
Malcolm’s pupils shook. Ilena instinctively sensed something had gone wrong, but she had only described what happened without exaggeration. They had drunk heavily together at night and simply stayed at the same inn.
“Kahaha!”
Malcolm’s expression grew even more miserable than before, and Dimitri laughed even harder. Still, Ilena thought that backing down now would only make things stranger, so she pushed forward even more strongly.
“There’s nothing strange about it, is there? The next morning, when I was struggling, he even woke me up…”
“Enough!”
Malcolm, unable to listen any longer, shouted, then muttered in a voice of resignation. “I understand now what kind of relationship you and Roen had. But is that kind of promiscuous relationship normal in the city? For a man and woman who aren’t even dating to meet at night and…”
“That’s enough, Malcolm hyung.”
Dimitri stopped the sarcastic Malcolm with a sharp tone. “You’re being rude. What exactly is your relationship with Ilena that you’re interrogating her like this?”
“Shut up, Dimitri! This is between me and Ilena…”
Malcolm, who had been frowning, slowly relaxed his face. He had finally noticed Gebura and Hesed staring at him with menacing expressions.
“Malcolm. Were you raising your voice just now?”
“I was going to let it slide since you brought food, but you dare…!”
Malkuth and Tiphereth weren’t glaring at him, but they openly criticized him as if wanting him to hear.
“Male creatures naturally lose their minds when it comes to anything involving females.”
“Human males are low-class. Filthy.”
Malcolm, who had lost his mind at the words “slept at the same inn,” finally read the room and calmed his excitement. Belatedly, he smiled awkwardly, trying to smooth things over.
“Ahaha, I must have gotten a bit worked up. It was about my close friend Roen, after all. I’m sorry.”
“Your apology shouldn’t be directed at us.”
Gebura jerked his chin toward Ilena. “You should apologize to Ilena, whom you’ve offended. Unless you want to die, do it now!”
“W-want to die…?”
The other young men looked strangely desperate. Only then did Malcolm turn to Ilena, who was sitting beside him. She was still looking at him with an expression that said she had no idea what was going on.
Malcolm didn’t quite understand, but he quickly bowed his head deeply to Ilena before the atmosphere could worsen any further.
“I’m sorry, Ilena. I kept asking you difficult questions…”
“It’s fine. It’s understandable that you’d want to ask about what kind of relationship I had with Roen. You two have been friends since childhood, after all.”
Ilena didn’t fully understand, but since Malcolm was apologizing, she accepted it for now.
“Now, Malcolm hyung, you should eat some of the food too. You went through all the trouble of making these delicious dishes, so what’s the point if you don’t eat any?”
Dimitri smiled brightly again as if nothing had happened and offered him the food.
Malcolm, who had been too focused on Ilena to have any appetite, finally reached for the dishes he himself had brought.
“Yeah. I should eat. I need to eat and gather my strength. It’s delicious…”
Though Malcolm had finally gotten to sit beside the Ilena he had longed for, he could no longer look at her or speak to her. He simply ate his food in silence.