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Chapter 10 …
“Really, our kids are so well-behaved.”
“Heh heh. They’re relatives, right? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter even if they are.”
What is he even talking about?
I narrowed my eyes, watching the herbal shop owner grin strangely, wondering why he was smiling like that.
“Sir, your smile is kind of weird.”
Then the herbal shop owner clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
“You’re the weird one, Ailette.”
“Me?”
“You’re oblivious.”
“Ob… oblivious?”
“Yeah. Well, that’s part of your charm too, I guess.”
He left those ominous words behind and went inside.
I felt uneasy. In romance fantasy novels, the female lead is usually oblivious, isn’t she? That can’t be me. I’m just a side character.
I decided the shop owner was just teasing me, then stopped the dog and fox who were fighting over my bag.
“Stop it!”
“Eep.”
“Yip.”
“I’ll carry my own bag.”
Ignoring their sulking, I put the bag on myself. Then I took Seith and Ain and went to a clothing store that sold men’s ready-made clothes.
Ain asked first.
“Why are we here, Ailette?”
“To buy you guys clothes. Honestly, what you’re wearing doesn’t suit your faces at all. Right now.”
“But I like what I’m wearing.”
Seith tilted his head and looked down at his clothes.
“What a man who knows nothing about fashion.”
I clicked my tongue.
I could excuse Ain since he was a beastman, but that man was definitely noble… If he remembered later and regained his memory, he would definitely resent me for letting him walk around looking like a “wild mountain man.”
I should buy them clothes for that future.
I entered the shop and bought two sets each of linen shirts and pants commonly worn by commoners for Seith and Ain.
Since their body types were different, I had to pick different sizes, but clothes really do make the man. Compared to the rough clothes they’d been wearing from my father’s wardrobe, they suddenly looked radiant.
Shining!
Both Ain and Seith were handsome in different ways, and I suddenly felt like making them into idols due to my fangirl instincts.
“No, no… calm down. Once we go to the capital and start making real money, I’ll dress them properly.”
“Is, is it okay?”
Ain awkwardly spun around. The shop owner was dazzled and even gave them extra shirts as a service, and Seith received an additional jacket.
“Wow! I’ve never seen such handsome young men in a countryside like this! Dressing them up is such a joy!”
The shop owner looked thrilled.
Right, face really is everything.
Anyway, I should quickly get that missing persons flyer from the capital that he mentioned.
Maybe Seith’s family was desperately looking for him.
I should ask a merchant going to the capital next time to bring me one.
We quickly bought various food supplies and essentials and returned to the mountain.
“Ailette, dinner is ready!”
“Yes!”
Today we grilled meat outside and even drank apple wine that had been fermenting in advance, so I was slightly tipsy and light-headed.
So I decided to say what I wanted.
Pointing at Seith and Ain, I narrowed my eyes and raised my voice.
“You two! Get along!”
“I refuse…”
“I’d rather not.”
“Hey, why!”
I shouted and hit the ground with a fire poker, making Ain smirk and narrow his eyes.
“Then, Ailette. If we get along, will you like me more?”
“Of course. I like good foxes more.”
“I see. Then I’ll be a good fox from now on. That okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Suddenly, Ain’s body glowed and transformed into a silver fox. He immediately jumped into my arms.
When he was a fox, he was so soft and adorable that I couldn’t help hugging and stroking him.
Maybe I was more affected because I was tipsy today.
“Our Ain’s tail is so cute.”
As I kept petting him and rubbing his cheeks, Seith clenched his fist tightly.
Why is he clenching his fist?
“…Teacher. You’re drunk.”
“Ah, is that so? Hehe. So what.”
Seith spoke in a slightly stiff voice. I couldn’t see his expression, but he seemed tense.
I gently placed Ain on the floor and, resting my chin on my hand, narrowed my eyes.
“Seith… if you were an animal, you’d probably be a large dog. A Border Collie like this size?”
“If I were a Border Collie, would you have liked me like that?”
As Seith asked seriously, Ain, lying at my feet, bared his teeth.
“Grrr.”
“Hey.”
“Yip.”
I smacked Ain’s mouth for barking for no reason, then looked at Seith, who had moved closer and was now sitting beside me.
The firelight cast shadows on his face, making him look even more handsome.
I cupped his cheek and smiled faintly.
“Probably. Like this—since you’re a dog.”
“Teacher.”
He bit his lower lip and gently took my hand from his cheek, slowly lowering it.
“Not like this?”
“…No, not like that.”
“Oh, Ain fell asleep.”
Honestly, Ain—who had weaker alcohol tolerance than me but pretended otherwise and drank three cups of apple wine—had already fallen asleep at my feet.
I carefully looked at the sleeping Ain, then turned to Seith and asked.
“Hey, Seith.”
“Yes.”
“I heard your face was on the missing persons flyers in the capital. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
A shadow fell over Seith’s face.
“It seems your family is looking for you. You should go to the capital soon.”
“…Yes. That would probably help me assist you more, Teacher. I must be of high status.”
“That’s not why. You don’t need to help me. I never expected anything from you.”
I waved my hands in surprise.
“I want to be helpful.”
He muttered, his face completely red, head bowed.
Is he drunk?
Hmm. Seith must have drunk too much apple wine too. Why are all the men here so weak to alcohol?
“You like alcohol? Why did you drink so much? Your face is completely red.”
As I teased him with a laugh, Seith raised his head and called me.
“Ailette Teacher.”
“Yes?”
He hesitated, then clenched his fist as if he had made up his mind.
“Would you go somewhere with me right now?”
“Where?”
“It’s not a dangerous place.”
Seith smiled gently.
That smile was so beautiful that I nodded without thinking. He tilted his head slightly and looked at me before starting to clean up the area.
He moves well. Doesn’t seem drunk at all.
While I was petting sleeping Ain, Seith finished washing up and even put a thin cardigan over me. Then he walked ahead and hesitantly held out his hand.
“Teacher. May I hold your hand? The path is a bit rough.”
A very large hand unlike mine was extended toward me, and I stammered a little.
“My hand? Y-yes.”
“Think of it as an escort.”
He spoke seriously, and I also became serious, nodding solemnly as I placed my hand on his large palm.
Seith gently looked at my hand before gripping it firmly.
“Your hand is really small.”
“Haha.”
“Like a baby.”
At his words, I burst out laughing.
“Well, I’m pretty smart for a baby. I am the head of this household, after all.”
“Haha.”
The awkward atmosphere between us melted away, and we talked as we climbed the mountain.
It was night, but Seith had already become more familiar with night paths than me, allowing us to move easily through the dark mountain trail.
As we went higher, I asked him,
“Can I ask where we’re going?”
“It’s probably a place you’ve never been, Teacher Ailette.”
“Oh, really? How can you be sure?”
“Because it’s a place a child can’t go.”
Again calling me a child, I frowned and raised my brows as if annoyed.
“Oh my. Are you looking down on me?”
“No. I’m cherishing you.”
Seith smiled gently. It almost looked like honey was dripping from his eyes.
Oh my.
Maybe I really am drunk.
Anyway, we arrived at the place he led me to—it was the edge of a cliff where I definitely couldn’t normally go.
When I stepped onto it, I was speechless at the breathtaking view of the village and distant lands all visible at once.
“Wow…”
It was insane. I had never seen a night sky full of stars so clearly from this mountain before.
“It’s beautiful, right? I wanted to show it to you, Teacher Ailette.”
“It’s pretty.”
Without realizing it, I grabbed his hand tightly as I spoke. Seith looked down at me and said,
“You’re more beautiful, Teacher.”
“Ah.”
I looked up in surprise. Seith was gazing at me with gentle eyes.
