Senior, I've Come to Visit - Chapter 35

“Ah, hello. Is Eloise, I mean Researcher Eloise, here by any chance?”

“…Leon?”

Through the gap of the door Nardi was holding open, I saw Leon.

“Eloise!”

When our eyes met, his face brightened and he waved happily.

“Do you have a moment? If you’re busy, I can come back later.”

“I’m free now.”

I stepped out through the doorway Nardi was holding and glanced back at him.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, Senior.”

A faint smile spread over Nardi’s usually expressionless face.

“There’s a garden out front. Do you want to talk there?”

“Sure.”

Soon, I was sitting across from Leon at a table in the research building’s garden.

Leon had been in the same year as me at the academy and was one of the few people I could say I was close to. Seeing him for the first time in a while felt both pleasant and strange. Dressed in the Safety Department uniform, he looked taller and broader than the last time I’d seen him.

“Have you been well all this time? It’s already been well over a year since we graduated. Time really flies.”

“Yeah. I’ve been well, what about you?”

“Me too. I’ve been training in the Safety Department and guarding the border. I came to the Magic Tower this time for a routine report, and after I reported in, I dropped by the Research Department. I wondered if I might run into you, and here we are, haha.”

“I see.”

I nodded as I listened. I already knew that after graduation, Leon had applied to the Safety Department and been assigned as a border defense wizard.

“You’re stationed in the Timor region up north, right?”

“Yeah, so you knew.”

“What’s it like there? Is it very dangerous?”

“No, there aren’t as many demoninc beasts as I expected, and it’s a quiet place. The patrols and training are intense, but I actually like it because I don’t have time for stray thoughts.”

“You look well.”

“Really?”

Leon laughed and touched his own face.

“Eloise, you’ve gotten even prettier.”

“….”

His confession from our academy days suddenly came to mind.

Even after I turned him down, nothing in particular became awkward between us; we just carried on naturally as if nothing had happened. So with time, it faded into the back of my memory, only resurfacing recently when I was talking with Nardi.

Back then, when Nardi had asked me why I had rejected the confession, the person who had confessed had been Leon.

As if he somehow knew I was thinking about him, Nardi appeared in the garden at that moment.

“…?”

Nardi had brought a sickle and a basket from somewhere and headed toward the flowerbeds. Without so much as a glance our way, he chose a spot very close by, squatted down, and started harvesting plants.

It did not look like medicinal herbs, more like he was digging up flowers.

I stared blankly at Nardi’s broad back. Even crouched, his frame was big and his presence obvious.

Is he seriously doing this just to eavesdrop on my conversation with Leon?

For some reason, his ears looked like they were pricked up.

“Uh….”

Leon, too, looked flustered as he watched Nardi’s back, then soon turned his head back to me.

“How about you? Does life in the Research Department suit you?”

“Yeah, well enough.”

“I figured it would. Even at the academy, you liked exploring and researching various topics.”

“That’s right.”

“I heard you succeeded in making a hemostatic potion last year. What are you working on these days?”

“We’re currently making a potion that blocks the approach of demonic beasts.”

Our team’s research was not confidential, so there was no problem sharing it.

“A potion that blocks demonic beasts from approaching?! How?”

“The principle is simple. We combine ingredients that have a repelling effect on demonic beasts and use amplification magic to make it.”

“That’s amazing, that’s really cool. Then if it succeeds, the Safety Department’s workload will be drastically reduced?”

I smiled faintly and shook my head. “Even if it succeeds, it won’t be easy to produce that kind of volume. I think it’ll end up being used as an auxiliary during subjugations or in regions where demonic beast damage is especially severe.”

It was a potion that blocked the approach of demonic beasts, not one that killed them, so for now the only way to reduce their numbers was still subjugation.

“Even so, it’ll be used for really important things.”

“We’re still in the middle of making it.”

“You’ll definitely pull it off.”

Nardi was still hovering around near me and Leon, digging up perfectly healthy flowers. He inched along the flowerbed bit by bit, and it seemed like he’d come even closer than before. I held back the laugh that tried to escape me at how ridiculous it was.

Leon didn’t connect anything between me and Nardi, and just looked at him in disbelief, as if he were a strange person. Then he scooted a little closer to me and lowered his voice.

“Um, Eloise.”

“Yeah?”

A sense of déjà vu made me tense slightly.

He’s not about to confess again, is he?

Even if he did, I’d just have to turn him down, but it would still be a bit awkward, and on top of that I was conscious of Nardi nearby, so it bothered me.

“Thank you.”

“…Huh?”

At the unexpected words, I looked at Leon. Looking a little shy but serious, he began to speak.

“I’ve always wanted to say this at least once, but I’m only saying it now. Back in the academy, thanks for stepping in when the others were bullying me.”

“Ah….”

Back then, a few nobles had constantly picked on Leon, who’d been small and weak in magic. I’d found the sight unpleasant and annoying and had quietly interfered whenever I could, and apparently he’d noticed. Well, it would’ve been hard not to notice….

I didn’t know what to say, so I just nodded silently. Saying it was nothing would have felt like I was dismissing Leon, who hadn’t been able to stop the group of nobles by himself.

“Because of you, I could always keep doing my best. I wanted to be like you.”

“…I see.”

As the years passed, Leon’s skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and at some point he’d grown strong as if he’d awakened. Naturally, he’d escaped from being bullied, and he even helped other commoner classmates who were being bullied. Hearing that he’d worked hard because he wanted to be like me was something I’d never heard before, and it was both surprising and a little embarrassing.

“You were able to do well because you had the talent.”

I really didn’t have the gift of conversation, so all that came out was something that sounded cliché.

“Genius is a talent someone like you is born with. I think I’m just the hard-working type.”

Leon scratched his head with an awkward laugh.

“Anyway, I really wanted to thank you at least once. It’s not just me. The other classmates might not have said anything, but everyone was genuinely grateful to you. You probably don’t know how reassuring it was having you around.”

“Are things all right now?”

“Of course. Now I’m the one in the position of protecting people.”

Leon pointed to his Safety Department uniform. Now that he’d grown stronger, I could sense a new ease and confidence in him that he hadn’t had before. I thought it was a good thing and nodded.

Chang, chang-

The sound of Nardi’s sickle rang in my ears.

What on earth is he doing….

“Are you seeing someone right now?”

Ah….

I’d let my guard down for a moment and was slightly startled inside.

Was Leon just asking casually, as if making small talk about what I’d been up to, or did he still have some feelings left for me?

Whatever the reason, my answer was already decided.

“Yeah, I am.”

It was a secret that I was seeing Nardi, but there was no particular reason to hide the fact that I was seeing someone at all. As much as possible, I didn’t want to lie.

“Whoa, really?!”

…Was it that surprising?

Leon looked like he couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah.”

“Ah, sorry, it just really caught me off guard. Can I ask who it is?”

There was no way I could say it was Nardi right over there. At some point, Nardi had come even closer, stopped using the sickle, and his ears were pricked up.

“That’s a bit….”

When I let my words trail off, Leon nodded.

“You don’t have to tell me. Still, since he’s someone you’re seeing, I’m really curious what kind of guy he is. I even feel a bit jealous….”

Leon suddenly cut himself off. It seemed like he’d spoken without thinking and then regretted it.

For him to say he was jealous of the person I was seeing, he really did seem to still have some feelings left for me.

“….”

An awkward silence passed for a moment.

Then, suddenly, Nardi sprang to his feet and strode toward the table.