DTSML 09

Chapter 09

“Right. I guess that’s like a mouse worrying about a cat, isn’t it?”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek.
Alferen carefully checked the rest of my body for any other injuries.
Embarrassed by his attentive care, I muttered playfully, “A scratch this small will heal in no time, even without a potion.”
“But it might leave a scar.”
“Honestly, aren’t you the one who needs it more than I do, Oppa?”
I pointed at his wrist, and he shrugged.
“Injuries like this are a daily occurrence in battle. It’s actually important not to rely too much on potions.”
“It’s nice having a friend who’s a mage, Oppa. Next time I get hurt, I’ll have to ask you for help again.”
“You’re planning on getting hurt again?”
Alferen asked in a low voice, meeting my gaze.
His clear, blue eyes seemed unusually calm today.
Since he was taking my joke so seriously, I couldn’t help feeling awkward.
“N-no, I just…”
“Healing potions aren’t万能. Deli, the most important thing is to avoid getting hurt in the first place.”
His tone was mildly admonishing, and I couldn’t help feeling dejected.
Even I had to admit that yesterday’s accident had been caused by my own carelessness.
“Mm, I’m sorry.”
In the end, I’d gotten nowhere, so I obediently let him finish examining me.
A little while later, he returned to his seat and offered me another potion.
“What’s this one?”
“A potion for hangovers. You seemed to have had a bit too much to drink yesterday.”
“Oh!”
I snatched the potion and drank it immediately.
My stomach had been so queasy that I hadn’t even been able to eat.
The potion Alferen gave me worked wonders. As expected of a potion from Ainluke.
Feeling my stomach gradually settle, I sprawled out on the sofa and cried out like a child who’d just eaten their fill.
“Ahhh, I feel alive again!”
I guess this makes up for you avoiding me yesterday!
Honestly, I’d been pretty hurt by it. But when I thought about how I was now getting such excellent care thanks to him, I supposed I had no choice but to let it slide.
Just then, Alferen gazed at me intently and spoke.
“Deli, there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Why are you so determined to make me break off my engagement?”
The question came out of nowhere, and I immediately straightened up and stared at him.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Just curious. It crossed my mind.”
Alferen replied slowly, looking at me sidelong.
Could it be that my plan is working?
If he’d noticed that Nanael had deliberately pushed me, his reaction would make sense.
No matter how many times I’d told him to break off the engagement, he’d never even pretended to listen. This was the first time he’d ever asked me about it.
I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, so I started my usual brainwashing routine.
“Because Princess Nanael has a bad reputation. I want you to meet someone nice, Oppa. Especially since you should be careful around redheads. Be extra, extra caref—”
“Is that really the reason?”
Alferen cut me off and leaned closer.
The distance between us, which had already been small, shrank even further, and I instinctively tensed up.
“You were wary of the princess from the very first time we met. Don’t you remember specifically warning me to be careful around redheads?”
“D-did I?”
“If it were just superstition, that would be oddly specific. Is there really no other reason?”
Under Alferen’s relentless questioning, I scrambled to think.
I didn’t want to lose the opportunity I’d finally managed to seize by giving him some vague answer.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come up with anything convincing.
When I failed to answer immediately, Alferen spoke again.
“Honestly, you were pretty reckless yesterday. You didn’t have to drink everything the princess offered you. And then you even fell down the stairs.”
“Y-yeah, I suppose…”
“Why would you put yourself in danger just to do this?”
“P-put myself in danger? What do you mean? If you’re talking about what happened yesterday…”
“Princess Nanael told me that you kept snatching up every item she was planning to buy.”
So that was what she’d whispered to him about?
A cold sweat broke out as I realized my plan had been exposed.
If Alferen figured out that I’d deliberately provoked Nanael, my entire scheme would fall apart!
The more questions he asked, the worse things got.
There was no way an ambiguous lie would work on Alferen.
But I couldn’t exactly tell him the truth about the original novel, either, which left me in an even more difficult position.
“I…”
At that moment, Alferen gently took my hand, urging me to answer.
“Tell me, Deli. If you’re honest with me, I’ll seriously consider what you have to say.”
His eyes seemed to glimmer faintly, as though he were telling me he was ready to listen.
But now that he’d given me the perfect opportunity to speak, my mind had gone completely blank.
Besides, he was far too close. I could barely concentrate.
“C-couldn’t you move back a little first? Then we can talk.”
“Is that what matters right now?”
Alferen continued questioning me without moving an inch away.
His gentle voice softened my defenses while simultaneously making me even more nervous.
Why did he have to get so close just to ask me questions?
And why was his voice so soothing?!
He was asking me to be honest about the one thing I absolutely couldn’t tell him the truth about. No wonder I couldn’t get the words out.
“So, what I mean is…”
Just as I was floundering, completely cornered by Alferen, my savior appeared.
“Deli! Your brother brought you some hangover potions…! Huh?”
Adrian came in carrying an armful of hangover potions. When he spotted Alferen and me, he tilted his head in confusion.
“What the hell? What are you doing here?”
Alferen, who had somehow moved a step away from me, greeted Adrian with his usual perfectly composed smile.
“Nothing much. I was just worried about Deli.”
When I asked you to back off, you only leaned in closer!
Seizing the opportunity, I greeted Adrian with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“O-Oppa! You’re here!”
Never in my life had I been so happy to see Adrian.
At my enthusiastic welcome, Adrian trotted over and set down the basket of hangover potions.
“Ta-da! I figured our Deli would be feeling awful after drinking so much yesterday, so I bought you these. …But it looks like you’ve already had some?”
Adrian stared at the empty bottle on the table for a long moment before turning to Alferen.
“Wait, you made this yourself, didn’t you?”
“Oh, really? How can you tell just by looking at it?”
I’d assumed he’d simply grabbed something from the house. I hadn’t realized he’d made it himself!
Seeing my surprised expression, Adrian explained further.
“Magical potions contain the mage’s unique mana. The stronger the mana, the clearer the potion’s color. Only this guy can make a potion as transparent as water like this. It’s incredibly difficult to brew, too.”
Come to think of it, the potions Adrian had brought came in all sorts of colors.
By contrast, the potion Alferen had given me was so clear and sparkling that it had felt refreshing just to drink it.
“Wow, then I drank something incredibly rare!”
No wonder it worked so much faster than the potions sold in stores.
It was specially made by Alferen himself, the mage hailed as the strongest in the world!
I looked at Alferen with a deeply moved expression, and he shyly scratched his cheek.
Just then, Adrian’s eyes widened as he noticed the healing potion that was still half-full.
“Deli, are you hurt?!”
“N-no…”
“Where? How badly were you hurt for this guy to bring you a healing potion himself?”
Adrian fussed over me, inspecting me from head to toe.
“You looked perfectly fine when I saw you yesterday. Even the doctor said you only had a minor scratch on the back of your hand…”
Adrian trailed off and stared intently at my fair hand.
When he realized that the long scratch I’d had yesterday had completely disappeared, his expression gradually darkened.
“Oppa?”
Adrian stood frozen like a stone for a long moment before finally speaking in an unusually dark voice.
“Hey.”
“…What?”
“Didn’t you say making potions was a pain?”
“Not really.”
“You ignored me when I asked you to make one after I broke my arm.”
“Because you already had a healing potion from your standard-issue supplies.”
“Still, you always say healing potions are difficult to make, and even you buy them instead of brewing them yourself.”
“…”
“I’m pretty sure this is a healing potion you made yourself. What’s going on with you?”