Chapter 104: So Dishonest
For the past few days, I hadn’t seen the church bastards around.
They still attended classes without fail, but the moment lessons ended, they vanished—like ghosts that had suddenly lost interest in tailing me.
Since they were terrible at hiding, there was no way I simply hadn’t noticed them.
Which meant they must have had other business elsewhere.
I didn’t particularly care either way, but if I had to choose, I preferred not seeing them.
Still… I was curious.
Had they finally given up on stalking me because they no longer saw a reason to?
Or were they just busy with something else?
I’d like to think it was the former, but somehow, that didn’t seem likely.
“…Here, eat this too. I read in a book that it’s good for you. Don’t ask me how it’s good for you.”
By now, Dogeon seemed to have accepted that I genuinely cared about him.
He no longer nitpicked over my meal selections as much.
He did pick out a few things he wanted, but at least he didn’t remove anything I had chosen for him.
That was good enough.
People should eat what they want too, after all.
…Even if the things he wanted were weird vegetables I didn’t understand.
“Oh, salmon today? Well, at least it’s better than tomatoes.”
I wanted to give him a very enthusiastic nod in agreement.
No matter how much you disliked it, salmon was still meat.
How could you possibly compare it to a pile of greens?
Seeing Dogeon devour everything on his plate without hesitation only confirmed that I was making the right choices for him.
Maybe I should cook for him sometime.
…Not that I knew how to cook anything besides instant ramen.
And this world didn’t even have ramen.
So, yeah. That was out.
“…Uh, just enjoy your meal.”
I tried to think of something else I could do for him, but nothing came to mind.
The only thing I had any real knowledge of was books.
But I couldn’t exactly take him to the library and suggest we read a novel together.
Even as an introvert, I knew that was pushing it.
Talking in a library would just annoy other people, and besides, there was no guarantee he’d even enjoy it.
Hmm. I wanted to do something for him.
There had to be something…
While I absentmindedly ate, lost in thought, Dogeon must have noticed the troubled look on my face because he suddenly asked,
“Is something bothering you?”
“…Ah, it’s nothing major. It’s just… You do so much for me, but I don’t feel like I do anything for you in return. That thought made me a little gloomy.”
Thinking about it now, the only things I had ever done for him were paying for dessert, tutoring him, and talking with him.
That wasn’t nothing, but it didn’t feel like enough.
“Ah, if that’s what’s on your mind, you don’t have to be so disheartened. There are people in this world who, just by being there, bring great comfort to others.”
“…Really? That sounds… enviable. To be able to help others just by existing.”
I wasn’t being sarcastic. I meant it.
If you could earn goodwill without doing anything, that was an amazing thing.
But even then, wouldn’t receiving goodwill without giving anything back feel like a burden?
“…I’m not talking about ‘other people.’ I’m talking about you, Lady Hoyeon.
You’ve already done so much for me. Even if you don’t realize it.”
…Me?
Wait.
What exactly had I done?
Aside from sticking by his side—and even then, I’d been a nuisance to him before, hadn’t I?
“…Really? Just by being here, I help you?”
“Yes. Every time I see you, I feel energized.”
W-What kind of person says something like that to someone they’ve forced to eat things and actively hindered at times?!
“…Just eat your food! What nonsense—”
“No, really. How could I not feel strengthened when I see the person I love?”
Wh—?!
Why the hell was he saying this in public?!
I often wondered if Dogeon had any sense of shame.
From the way he spouted these ridiculous, embarrassing things without a second thought, I was starting to think he didn’t.
And the worst part was, he was completely sincere.
That just made it harder to handle.
I wanted to run, but his plate was still half full, so I couldn’t just leave him here.
Fine, then. You leave me no choice.
“Hoyeon, I—Mmph?!”
While he was distracted talking, I shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth.
(Obviously not my spoon.)
“…Stop talking and just eat!”
He clearly hadn’t expected this, fumbling for a moment before finally swallowing.
And the moment he did, I shoved in another spoonful.
I might have thought something about this was wrong, but I didn’t feel guilty.
Not even a little.
This was entirely his fault.
Who says things like that in public?!
Completely unaware that my actions were drawing even more attention, I quickly dragged him out of the cafeteria.
“…From now on, don’t say things like that in crowded places…!”
I was weak to kindness, okay?
He had no idea how lucky he was that I only reacted this much.
“What? But I was just complimenting you…”
If I had to guess, he was probably feeling unfairly wronged.
Like, Why am I being scolded for saying something nice?
But it was embarrassing!
“Getting compliments in front of people is embarrassing.”
That was all it took for Dogeon to finally understand.
Well, I supposed extroverts wouldn’t get it.
They wouldn’t know how embarrassing it was for someone to get flustered over a single compliment.
“…Ah, I see. I’ll be more careful from now on.
So, that means as long as we’re alone, I can compliment you all I want, right?”
…Wait.
Was that how this worked?
I guess so.
When it was just the two of us, I had no problem saying things I’d never say in public.
When we were alone, I didn’t feel as embarrassed.
“…Yeah. If it’s just us… it’s fine.”
…Then why did I feel so uneasy?
Something about the way he said it felt off.
“Hmm… Then, Hoyeon. You know we’re going to the Great Forest in about a week, right?”
I did.
It had been decided by just a few votes.
I hadn’t really cared where we went, but I supposed the forest was more calming than the ocean.
“Yeah. I know. Why?”
“Then, could you bring that medicine you took that night?”
…
That night.
The night we…
That same night, he had panicked, demanding what we would do if something happened.
So I had reassured him—I had taken the medicine.
Of course, to be completely certain, I’d have to get checked in a few days.
But I had taken it that night, so the chances were less than 1%.
It wasn’t impossible, but the odds were incredibly low.
My mother always said, If it’s not zero, it can happen.
But that was her.
For ordinary people like me, numbers like that didn’t feel real.
…That wasn’t the issue right now.
My heart was pounding too hard to ignore.
And for some reason, I felt feverish.
Because what he really meant by that was—
He wanted to do it again.
“Th-Th-That—uhh… Uhhh…”
No, see, that time, I had been in heat!
My brain had basically short-circuited!
I wasn’t against it, but this was too sudden—!
Was this normal among extroverts?!
“See? Even when we’re alone, it’s not that different.”
I had been spiraling when Dogeon’s words snapped me back to reality.
Wait.
So he wasn’t serious?
“…Were you testing me?”
“You said it was fine when we were alone, so I wanted to see for myself.
Oh, but I do want you to bring that medicine. What do you think?”
“………Fineee…”
I’d never heard my own voice sound so small before.
Even an ant crawling would’ve made more noise.
***
In just a few days, Gloria had recovered enough to walk again.
Though wielding her favored weapon or leaping between walls like she used to was still beyond her.
“…I see. So, all of that happened while I was bedridden…”
The Elf Who Lost Their Spirit, Hoyeon’s Mysterious Actions, and the Unknown World Tree
None of these matters were particularly significant when compared to Stefania.
However, that didn’t mean they could be ignored entirely.
Now that Stefania had disappeared, the greatest source of instability on this continent was Hoyeon.
The scriptures had warned: Fear that which comes from the East.
It was only natural.
In reality, trade wasn’t completely cut off—there was some intermediary trade through an island nation—but to the people of this continent, the East remained a place of fear.
After all, five hundred years ago, demons had crossed over from the East.
And with Georg, a living witness to those times, still around, their fear was justified.
“Still, thanks to Ethan and me running around everywhere, we’ve uncovered quite a bit!”
Cecilia declared proudly, though most of what she had learned wasn’t particularly important.
For example—
Dogeon ate more vegetables than meat.
Hoyeon liked Dogeon.
Camilla took Exipri to her room every night.
Some of it was even inaccurate.
But Gloria found Cecilia’s enthusiasm endearing nonetheless.
“Yes, you’ve worked very hard. Come here, I’ll reward you with a hug.”
Cecilia, who had not been expecting a reward, tried to flee.
However, escaping from someone blessed by the gods was impossible.
“Aaaah… Are you really someone who was bedridden just days ago?”
“Not all humans are weak, as the elves believe.”
“Impossible…!”
As Cecilia despaired over her crumbling worldview, Ena turned her gaze to Decatria.
She had seen him just before the decisive battle, and back then, she had been sure he wouldn’t last a month before something happened to him.
Yet, he had managed to avoid causing any major incidents so far.
Clearly, something had changed.
Was it because of this elf?
Gloria released Cecilia from her embrace and shifted her focus to Decatria.
The way he looked at the elf instead of her—it wasn’t hard to guess what emotions were stirring inside him.
If it were Decatria, he would likely dismiss such feelings as mere distractions from serving his god.
But Gloria loved meddling in other people’s romances.
So she made up her mind.
She would personally bring them together.
"Decatria, let's have a little chat. Just the two of us."