Chapter 73. We Definitely Washed Not Long Ago.....

It was late, after supper had ended.

Once the meal was over and the others had left the two of them alone together, Serika gave Heira a rough tour of the mansion, finally showing her the vacant room.

The room Heira would use for the duration of her stay.

"Is this all the luggage you have? You travel a lot lighter than I expected. And only two changes of clothes, too."

"My clothes? Whenever I find a river, I wash them, so......."

"...Ah, I think I see. When you're an adventurer, you end up sleeping rough pretty often. Too ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much luggage just gets in the way."

Hadn't they spent three days and nights drenched in sweat in the Great Forest, unable to clean their armor properly?

No matter how important the fundamentals of daily life might be, the longer you live as an adventurer, the more you have to keep rough sleeping in mind.

That was why a comfortable setup like this could feel like a godsend to some, and to others an unfamiliar, burdensome weight.

"Still, you ought to wear something comfortable to ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sleep in....... Let me bring you something of mine, just for tonight. Wait here a moment."

The kindness Serika was showing her was, to Heira, deeply burdensome.

She had never received goodwill like this before. Or perhaps she had, but since nothing came to mind, it couldn't have meant much.

And that was precisely why the kindness being shown to her now struck a deeper chord.

"Hmm. I thought as much, but it's a bit loose."

"......Loose."

Heira looked down at the borrowed pajamas and began lightly shaking the empty sleeves.

The cuffs flapped past her fingers. The sight was unmistakably baggy.

Seeing that, Serika's eyes lit up and she burst into laughter.

"I think we should go and buy Heira her own pajamas later, when we have the time."

"Go buy?"

"You'll be staying here from now on. Even if you might not wear them someday, wouldn't it be nice to keep them as a memento?"

"A memento......."

"Yes, a memento. The bonds we make are precious."

Smiling gently, Serika bent down to meet Heira at eye level.

The expression etched on her face could only be called goodwill.

"Don't you agree, Heira?"

Because Heira's senses were keener than most, she read the emotion being directed at her as utterly transparent.

Yes, this human woman was trying to accept her.

"......Yeah."

And Heira had been searching for someone like this all along.

Even if she couldn't reach out to others herself, if someone who approached her wished it, she would stand by them.

That was the only way she, who knew nothing, had thought she could belong in this world.

"I also think bonds should last a long time."

The beginning had been arranged by the man she met earlier, but she resonated fully with the idea that the bonds formed from it were precious.

So much so that the thought of how long they might endure from now on made her chest feel tight.

"Heira?"

"......."

Had her inner feelings slipped out before she realized it?

Just as her head was gradually drooping, Serika gave a wry smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Heira, if it's alright with you, may I brush your hair?"

"......My hair?"

"Yes, is that okay?"

A tender smile.

Facing it, Heira quietly nodded and sat down in front of the mirror placed in the room, entrusting her hair to Serika.

Shff, shff. The brushing continued softly. The glide felt so incredibly smooth — and surely not just because she had washed not long ago.

"Heira, your skin and hair are both so lovely. Is it because you're still young?"

"...Maybe."

Heira didn't deny the words.

She had lived for over a hundred years, true, but by elven standards, that was still very little time.

More than anything, it had only been about half a year since Heira began adapting to human society. Even if the one brushing her hair had lived fewer years, as a human, she could be considered the more complete one.

"Hehe, this is the first time I've brushed the hair of someone younger than me like this. I wonder if this is what it would have felt like to have a little sister?"

"......Little sister?"

"Yes. Everyone around me has always been older, so getting to feel that hasn't been easy. So....... Ah! How about calling me 'big sister' while we're at it?"

Expectation slowly filled the eyes of Serika's reflection in the mirror.

Meeting those sparkling eyes, Heira thought it over carefully before quietly speaking.

"Serika."

Her name.

"Serika, big sister."

And then, what Serika had wished for, without hesitation, just like that.

"......Hehe."

Was she satisfied with that title?

Soon, Serika smiled and finished tending to Heira's hair.

"Yes, I'm your big sister Serika, Heira~ Ah, since you've called me big sister, do you mind if I speak a little more comfortably to you from now on, too?"

"......Yeah. That's fine."

"Okay~ Thank you, Heira~ Let's both do our best to get along well from now on."

Warmth, felt through those affectionate and sentimental touches.

Heira was experiencing a cozy emotion unlike anything she'd ever felt before.

So much so that she thought, if a family existed — if a being called a mother, whom she'd only heard stories of, truly existed — perhaps it would feel like this.

'Not big sister....... Mom?'

The thought crossed her mind briefly, but Heira soon lowered her head a little, as if quietly rejecting it.

Yes, she had no memory of a mother in the first place.

Hadn't she been taken in and raised by hands not even related to her, ever since she possessed a sense of self?

All she knew about that came from overhearing others' conversations.

She couldn't say for certain that what she was feeling now was maternal love, or the feeling a child has toward someone who cares for them.

'Still, it's not bad.'

Even so, she wished this moment would continue.

But the faint smile that touched her lips from that warmth lasted only a moment.

"Speaking of which, I've been curious about something since the first time I saw you."

As the hair care was nearing its end, Serika asked Heira in a low voice.

"Heira, why did you tell Dave to follow you?"

"......Dave?"

"Yeah. You said Dave spoke to you at the archery range because he was the best shot. What I'm curious about is what it was about Dave that drew you to him."

Was it a natural question to ask?

Heira didn't find the question particularly strange.

"I just had a feeling that staying with this person would be nice."

She didn't know how her answer would be received.

"......Really?"

Yes, Heira did not know.

The reason the hand stroking her hair had stopped in that moment.

"Serika, big sister?"

"......."

Without a word. Serika resumed brushing her hair just like that.

Because Heira's head was lowered, she couldn't see what kind of expression the woman was making.

It only bothered her slightly that she had suddenly gone so quiet.

'...Conversation. Some kind of conversation.'

Yes, the surest way to connect with people was, after all, through talking.

"Big sister, what do you think of Dave?"

When Heira, remembering that, opened her mouth, Serika began moving her stopped hands again.

"...What kind of person does Heira think he is?"

A low voice slipped out right after.

The atmosphere had shifted subtly, but Heira decided not to dwell on it for now. Whatever it was, the important thing was that she'd finally started talking.

"Someone it would be nice to keep with me."

"......I think so too."

The reply came ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little late, but it was clearly an answer to her own words. Feeling a sense of mutual understanding from that, Heira asked her again.

"You too, Serika big sister?"

"Yeah. Because Dave is much more reliable than someone like me."

Shff, shff. Power gradually crept into the stroking, sweeping gestures.

"He calls himself useless, but he's only bad at fighting; he knows how to do all sorts of things. The first ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time we met and went to a dungeon together, you know, he was amazing at finding traps that were completely invisible to me."

The neatly arranged strands of hair began to slip free of the part, one by one, under the strength held in her hand's grip.

Heira noticed and reflexively tried to lift her head, but the hand stroking her hair countered her resistance with a reflexive strength of its own.

"After I parted ways with Dave, many things happened."

In that position, Serika kept speaking.

Her voice was still tender, yet now carrying many more layers than before.

"Every time I went on a quest and suffered after falling into the orcs' traps, I always thought of Dave. Even the rations supplied by the army tasted worse than what Dave made, and whenever other men hovered around me, I always found myself thinking how it would be if Dave were by my side."

"......Big sister."

"Yes, I struggled that much. So maybe if Dave had been there, I might have felt a little better... but even so, I wouldn't want Dave to follow me into a death zone. Because the places I go, now and in the future, will always be dangerous. It would be a nightmare if I took Dave there and he ended up like those people — a lump of meat with bone and flesh crushed together."

"Serika, big sister?"

"So even out in the field, I bore it by constantly thinking of Dave. My body and heart became no better than rags, but even so, Dave would be waiting for me where I return. No matter what I go through afterward, no matter what kind of person I become, Dave would accept me. I can't even imagine a life without Dave anymore......."

"Big sister, you're hurting me."

The stream of words poured on without even a proper breath. To Heira, who always listened carefully and interpreted people's words, it was the kind of speech she couldn't even properly understand.

No — even before that, the hand stroking her hair was pressing down harder. Hard enough to completely dishevel the hair she'd taken such care to arrange.

"...I'm sorry. I got carried away."

Apologizing, Serika released the strength in the hand caressing her head and tidied her hair again.

Heira raised her head only once the force pinning it down had eased somewhat.

"But Heira. May I ask you one thing?"

Yes, it was only then that Heira came to face Serika's expression.

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