MHHASCD 40

After handing the recovery potions to Asti, it seems the people around him have started to regain their energy as well, which is a relief.

As for me, I continued making the usual recovery potions while also experimenting with the panacea.

“Healing herb, Mahinaori flower, antidote weed, Meitei flower, and then…”

I place the ingredients into the pot, stirring as I pour in magic.

I work with utmost care, infusing my prayers into it as well.

“Magic tree, Re-Heal… may the one who drinks this… be healed…”

The foundation of my craft is wish.
The source of magic is prayer.

What I envision is the smile of the person who will use it.

“Phew…”

“How is it?”

“Miss Delilah. As expected, the key ingredients—the holy dragon’s horn and the unicorn’s tears—are indispensable.”

“I see…”

With the materials we have now, it’s possible to make a powerful recovery potion. But if we want something that cures all status ailments and restores both stamina and magic completely, those two are absolutely necessary.

“Once we obtain those two…”

“You put in a request with the guild, right?”

“Yes.”

As soon as we decided to attempt the panacea, I had Miss Delilah submit guild requests for the holy dragon’s horn and unicorn’s tears.

Veteran adventurers accepted the quests, but the results have been disappointing.

Some even brought fakes, which has been a headache.

“There were also people who brought other rare materials and told us to buy those instead. I’m honestly a bit worn out.”

“I hear more wandering adventurers have been coming through lately. I don’t like outsiders, but this town does accept adventurers, so it can’t be helped…

There’s no knight order anymore, and while there’s a volunteer watch made up of adventurers, well…”

Miss Delilah let out a long sigh.

There’s no knight outpost in Alstrail. There is one in neighboring Flailchest, but it’s over a hill away, so it’s not something we can rely on.

A volunteer watch does exist, but most of its members are retired due to injuries, illness, or age.

“If only there were someone to lead them…”

“Is Asti still busy with work?”

At Miss Delilah’s words, I found myself puffing out my cheeks without realizing it.

“…He’s been acting kind of sneaky lately.”

Yes.

On the day I gave him the recovery potions, Asti came home from work and looked surprised when he saw my face.

I had expected his usual bright, puppy-like, “I’m home!” so I was the one caught off guard when he returned silently.

Since then, he’s been restless—touching my hands for no reason, then suddenly asking what flowers I like. He’s clearly hiding something.

He’s still as persistent as ever about getting Ralph to call him Papa, but when it comes to me, he’ll avert his gaze, then stare intently. Suspicious, no matter how you look at it.

“Asti isn’t the type to cheat.”

“I know that, but…”

If Asti were to cheat, even hypothetically, I don’t think I’d be able to trust anyone ever again.

Given his upbringing, he despised infidelity and had sworn never to marry, thoroughly eliminating any hint of women from his life.

Just imagining him with another woman makes my chest ache.

The protective magic the other day was the same.

He did it so naturally, so effortlessly.

The thought that he might have done that with someone else—I hated it.

“I thought I was pretty detached, since even my ex-husband’s affair didn’t completely break me. But maybe that’s not true…

I mean, I even have a child, and yet…”

I have to be an independent woman.
I have to be strong.

I believed that—but I started to hate myself for how weak I was becoming.

“Isn’t that just bragging?”

“It’s a problem.”

“Did you know? Most worries are just groundless fears, and the rest can be solved with a little courage.”

That’s what Miss Delilah said.

“If you’ve got time to stew over it, go talk to Asti. A person’s time isn’t endless. If you want to live each day without regret, you have to talk things through properly.”

She’s right. We’ll have to talk sooner or later.

But if he said, “I’ve fallen for someone else”… I—

“Well, I have a rough idea what Asti’s trying to do.”

I had no idea.

Still, I didn’t want to keep feeling this unsettled.

“Do you think he’ll answer me honestly?”

“If he knew you were misunderstanding him, he might hurt himself in panic. Be careful.”

With Asti, that actually sounded possible.

A few days later, I waited for Asti to come home.

His work hours are supposedly irregular, but thinking back, he’s always come home at the same time.

“I-I’m home…”

Asti appeared in the living room via teleportation magic, speaking in a small voice.

“Welcome back.”

I stared at him, but he pressed his lips together and swallowed.

“There’s something I want to talk about.”

His expression stiffened instantly.

But unlike usual, he didn’t look away from me.

“I—I… me too. There’s… guh… someth—thing I want to talk about.”

…Did he just trip over his words?

“Um, well, not here—would you like to go to that hill?”

He pressed a hand to his chest, and his face looked a little red.

Was he feeling unwell?

“Uh… but Ralph would be alone…”

“…R-right. You’re right. Let’s bring Ralph too.”

He really must like that hill.

The haze in my chest spread for a moment—but I stopped myself from spiraling.

If it comes to that, then it comes to that.

When I picked up Ralph, Asti pulled me close and used teleportation magic.

On the hill, the wind brushed through the grass, weaving a gentle sound.

Ralph, cradled in my arms, seemed to be feeling the breeze, his eyes half-closed.

Listening to the wind, I remembered the time Asti confessed to me before.

I want to trust him.

I gathered my resolve and turned toward Asti.

At the same moment, Asti dropped to one knee on the ground and looked up at me.

His eyes still held the same heat as before.

“Asti…?”

“Miss Sheila. I love you.”

The earnestness in his voice and pleading expression made my heart race.

“I really do love you.

So much it surprises even me—I think about you every single day.”

His sincerity demanded that I face him properly.

“Truthfully, I want all of you. But I’ve decided not to want your past. Because I can never have it, right?

If you desire what you can’t have, your heart stays hungry.

And when something can’t be fulfilled, people try to replace it with something else.”

That, he went on to say, is how infidelity begins.

“But I want all of your present, and all of your future.”

With that, Asti pulled a large bouquet and a small box from his storage magic.

“Miss Sheila, please marry me.

I’ve received permission for your remarriage from His Highness the Crown Prince.

I want to be your husband in both name and reality—and Ralph’s father.”

“Asti…”

The Crown Prince—that’s the child of the king who rules the kingdom, right? Permission from someone like that? My head struggled to keep up.

“You’ve been acting strange lately… was this why?”

The bouquet was filled with my favorite flowers. And the ring.

All the pieces finally connected, and I felt both relief and something else altogether.

“I-I’m sorry. I thought I was bad at this kind of thing, so I wasn’t prepared at all… Did I make you misunderstand?”

His face turned pale as he panicked, and it was so endearing that I couldn’t help but stroke his head.

“If it was a misunderstanding, then that’s fine. I just thought, maybe you were getting tired of me… a little.”

“Getting tired of you is impossible. You’re alive every day, Miss Sheila. Your expressions and actions change. I don’t want to miss even a second.”

“I—I see…”

He leaned in close as he spoke, and I had to restrain myself from raising my voice so as not to wake Ralph. Thankfully, Ralph was sleeping peacefully.

“I’m actually quite greedy.

I want to stay together even when we’re both old and frail.”

You don’t want the past, but you’re greedy. Honest to a fault—and precious.

“I love you too, Asti. I want to stay together forever.

…I guess I’m greedy too. The thought of you with another woman made me really upset.

I worried, got frustrated, and even thought I’d take you back if I had to.”

Before I finished speaking, he wrapped his arms around me.

With Ralph between us, it wasn’t tight—but Asti’s scent tickled my nose.

“I will never cheat. Please let me stay by your side for the rest of my life.”

“Promise… never.”

“Of course. I will make you happy, Miss Sheila.”

Because I was holding Ralph, I couldn’t take the bouquet, and he couldn’t put the ring on me.