Chapter 145
After the communication due to the potion ended and I regained my senses, I couldn’t properly look at Nova’s face for a while.
Whenever he called me, I found myself instinctively shrinking my shoulders and turning my head away.
After all, if I thought about all the things I had done over the past few days, I felt like I could kick my blanket a thousand times right away.
Even the rice that I usually enjoyed eating, I couldn’t tell if it was going into my nose or mouth when I ate it next to Nova.
“Stella, speaking of which…”
Phew… cough cough!?
“Are you okay? Eat slowly. You might choke.”
“Um. I’m fine… then I’ll finish my meal and get up…”
“Wait a moment, Stella, you…”
Just as I was about to pick up my dishes, the aunt looked at the leftover mushrooms in my soup bowl with a stern expression.
I usually kept them out of sight when facing each other, but I forgot to hide them because I was worried about Nova…
“How can you leave so many mushrooms? You have to eat them cleanly…”
“Ahaha… I… I just ate a little…”
“Ah! You can’t be picky! Sit back down.”
“Yes…”
I tried to send a pleading look to Uncle with my sad eyes, but he flinched at my gaze.
Glancing at Aunt, he subtly apologized to me and then pulled out a newspaper to divert his attention.
Usually, he would do anything if I ordered him, but it seems he really couldn’t go against his wife.
In the end, reluctantly, I forked up a piece of mushroom that I had gathered in my bowl.
I could eat most foods, but the one thing I just couldn’t manage was this mushroom.
Its mushy, squishy texture and the unique sour smell of mushrooms were just too much for me.
“Ugh… Nova…”
I turned my head toward my last glimmer of hope, but he didn’t seem like he had any intention of helping at all.
Instead, he looked at my predicament, grinning as if he found it amusing, and leisurely said to me.
“Should I feed you? You asked me to do that yesterday, remember?”
‘This is so…!’ Is he planning to get revenge on me for ignoring him? Ugh, how annoying!
Just yesterday, I was in a complete fluster, and now in my right mind, I’m just an easy target for teasing?
“Then that works! Nova, you should feed her. That way, she might eat something too.”
“Mom? I can eat without that!”
“Really? Just yesterday, you were begging me to feed you…”
“Ugh!? No! Wait… I… finished eating… I’ll get up now!”
*
After that, every time Nova called, Stella would jump in surprise and keep running away.
Even while working part-time, she started dodging whenever she rested at home.
Unlike when she was intoxicated by the drug, she was now avoiding him diligently.
“Hey, Stella, stop running away…”
‘Seriously, just stay away from me already!’
Every time she saw his face, memories of her misdeeds came flooding back, and she hid her erupting face.
She waited in a tree in the nearby forest until Nova gave up looking for her.
She was also a brilliant mage; if she put her mind to it, she could easily hide her presence.
Nova searched around the forest, sighing when he finally muttered to himself.
“Ha… it can’t be helped, but I wanted to tell you beforehand…”
Thud thud
“…Did she leave?”
Stella, waiting for the sound of footsteps to fade, came out from the bushes where she had been hidden.
“I feel like he was trying to say something important… should I have just come out?”
Now that she was alone, a bit of loneliness washed over her, but it wasn’t as severe as when she was under the influence of the potion.
So she thought she might as well head down to the lower village and grab some bread.
“Uncle’s bread is delicious no matter when you eat it.”
She tried to recreate the taste but quickly realized her cooking skills were abysmally bad.
She was sure she followed the recipe, but they either looked weird, burned, or tasted terrible, so she decided to postpone her learning for now.
“When I next meet Serena, I should feed her a bunch of my failed creations… Is that too much?”
Since Nova had collapsed and frothing at the mouth after just two or three attempts, she felt too guilty to give him more.
Fortunately, Anubis who taught her to cook was a sturdy beastkin, so it was possible for him to taste her cooking.
“If that can make him faint after about ten pieces… wouldn’t that be enough to take down a monster?”
While walking with this painful self-deprecation, Stella spotted Emma’s bakery bustling with activity.
In fact, for her, the bakery of Nova’s parents was a place she was quite familiar with, not just a spot she found during her time off.
Three years ago, before railways existed, while returning to the Magic Tower via carriage after escorting the princess,
She passed through a town that felt vaguely familiar. Haren Village, part of the Northern Duke’s territory, was a gathering place for adventurers where she often played with Nova during her childhood.
Not wanting to recall unnecessary memories, she hurried to leave when she suddenly spotted a woman who stood out along the road.
Immediately, she called the carriage driver to a stop and alighted.
“I’ll get off here.”
“Eh? But that’s quite far from the Empire…”
“I’ll pay extra, so hurry up!”
After seeing off the carriage, she cast a recognition-impeding spell, pulled her hood deep, and concealed her face.
Hypnotically, she followed the woman and arrived at a small bakery that was much smaller than the one she knew now.
The woman, who looked young and beautiful, with black hair that made her seem in her twenties, was someone Stella recognized—only one person.
“Emma, Aunt…”
What right do I have to stand in front of her? Yet, my body was already nervously standing in front of the bakery.
There was no chance of being caught due to magic, but I didn’t intend to come here, and when my mind and body were conflicted, she called out to me.
“Hmm? Are you a customer, little lady?”
“Oh, um, that’s…”
“It’s not time for opening yet; we’ll open in an hour…”
“That’s not it! Sorry for intruding!”
Just as I was about to leave, a significant growl erupted from my stomach, plunging the surroundings into silence.
While suppressing a face that felt like it was about to explode with embarrassment, just as I tried to leave, she kindly held my hand and said warmly.
“Looking at your outfit, you aren’t from around here, right? You can’t go hungry so early in the morning~”
Being drawn inside the store, I spotted freshly baked bread coming out of the oven.
Swallowing my saliva while staring blankly, Aunt Emma smiled fondly and handed me one piece.
“It hasn’t been long since we opened, but business isn’t bad, so you can expect quite a bit, you know?”
I hesitated, going back and forth between her and the bread. At that time, I thought this:
Such sweet food is certainly not good for physical balance,
But since I needed to prepare my body to defeat the Demon King as soon as possible, I had been careful with my diet.
However, to reject her kindness after coming all the way here seemed impolite, so I thought I might as well try a bite.
The moment I took a bite—
“Yum…?!?”
The long-lost sweetness hit me like a shockwave, and I froze up.
Having come out early in the morning and being on an empty stomach collided, and I devoured the bread before my eyes in an instant.
“Oh my, you must have been very hungry; shall I give you another?”
“…Why are you doing this for me?”
“Actually… my child loved sweet bread immensely… but due to circumstances… she’s not around now…”
“…” “So I opened this bakery; if it does well and becomes famous, maybe she’ll catch the scent and come looking for me.”
This had to be my story. Before my memories returned, I loved sweet food immensely.
I had even stolen Nova’s candy, and if he didn’t feed me, I would cry—looking back now, it’s an incomprehensible embarrassment…
No, that’s not the main point; the fact that she opened a bakery hoping I would come find her… that’s pointless…
“…I’ll take my leave now, thank you.”
I felt that lingering for any longer might lead to unwelcome thoughts, so I tried to make my escape when my body stupidly growled, breaking the silence once more.
“…Looks like you were very hungry…” Ugh, so embarrassing!
In the end, I left the bakery with my arms full of bread. Of course, I paid properly.
While I wouldn’t likely visit this place as Stella again, the bread was delicious, so there was no crime in enjoying some food.
“If I ever have a reason to stop by again, I’ll just pick some up…”
As I wandered around looking for a carriage to return to the Magic Tower, I spotted a familiar face.
“It’s you… Unknown Man?”
“I didn’t expect to see you here again. Good to see you, Mage.”
The first thing that caught my eye was the bandage-wrapped shoulder of his. I could vaguely discern why.
Judging by the blood on my hands and the circumstances at that time,
I inferred that I had injured him when I lost control with Innate True Qi. After that, I realized he had taken care of the aftermath.
“I’m sorry about that day; you had to deal with unnecessary troubles.”
As I sincerely bowed my head in apology, he shook his head and expressed his gratitude.
“No need to apologize. I’m actually grateful to you.”
“…Grateful to me?”
“Yes, I had achieved my long-desired goal and was wandering, but now I have a new purpose.”
The expression he wore while saying that seemed relaxed and, at a glance, appeared relieved.
“Is the purpose you mentioned… to kill that man?”
I still remember the murderous intent that radiated when Arhan revealed his true identity.
To my words, the Unknown Man merely smiled and shifted the topic.
“You got that bread from Emma’s bakery, right? You have a discerning eye.”
“I heard they just opened not long ago though?”
“I have a connection with the owner there, so I’ve often enjoyed their treats.”
“Hm… is that so?”
I took a piece of bread from my basket and handed it to him.
“Then here, take one; I bought too much.”
“Um… I came here intending to visit that place, but I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
Just as I was trying to leave, a sudden curiosity struck me.
I called out to the Unknown Man, who was walking away, and asked.
“Hey, about that new purpose, what is it?”
At my words, the Unknown Man stared at me for a moment and then chuckled softly.
“I plan to enter the Academy; there’s someone I need to meet.”
The Academy… I thought someone with his skills wouldn’t need to attend it.
He could easily gain fame by operating outside, just like I did.
In that sense, attending the Academy might not be a bad path after all. I suppose it had nothing to do with me.
“Well, I hope you get in well. Take care.”
“Yes, I’ll see you there next time.”
“What?”
*
After that, I never did see the Unknown Man again. It was like he had promised in a way that we would meet again someday, yet he never showed up.
I felt guilty towards Nova, but for some reason, the Unknown Man lingered in my thoughts.
“I can’t ask Nova’s parents; they wouldn’t know. Also….”
Deep in such thoughts, when I arrived at the bakery, I spotted the two of them who had just entered break time.
As soon as they saw me, Aunt Emma approached, as if she had been waiting.
“Hey, Stella, Nova was looking for you urgently!”
“For me?”
I thought maybe she was worried the effects of the potion hadn’t worn off yet; too much worry leads to a mountain of trouble…
“Apparently, he had to go to the Duke of the North’s residence for some business…”
“…What?”
The Duke of the North… is that the Gruwein Duke?
*
“I never thought I would come back here…”
The place I found myself now was the heart of the North, the Duke’s residence of the Three Great Clans, Gruwein Duke’s manor.
This was also the site where I had been assigned to protect Siel previously, so it felt somewhat familiar.
This morning, I discovered an urgent letter that surprised me.
The sender was none other than the Duke Gruwein himself, one of the strongest people in the world, known as the Frost Lord of the North.
Usually, one would get a chance to meet him only by proceeding along the Siel route.
[Quest: Gain permission to challenge the trial by meeting with Nuer Gruwein.]
If I gain his recognition and pass the trial, I would receive various rewards and powers.
The rewards varied depending on how I responded to him, and luckily, I still remembered how to answer.
“This is it.”
Preparing my heart, I opened the door to the reception room under the butler’s guidance.
However, what awaited me was not Nuer but a completely different person.
A woman with flowing blue hair like silk and tranquil eyes, she was undoubtedly worthy of the title known as the Frost Flower of the North.
“…Siel?”
“I’ve been waiting for you, Nova… no, Unknown Man.”
