Show Me Your Stats!

Ayra stared at Janus blankly for a moment, then suddenly found herself surprised by how deeply she had fallen for him in such a short time. The next feeling that followed was the regret that the Solar Estate was not very large, and that there wouldn't be much time left to wander around with Janus. It felt like they had already explored most of the estate.
Ayra subtly pulled out the instrument resembling the one Lira used. Had she completely forgotten about the instrument? Janus raised a red eyebrow in mild surprise. Lying casually with his right arm propped up, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and sat up.
"I guess everything is ready?"

Naturally, she wasn’t a musician, and there was no way she could have become proficient with the instrument in just a few days. However, she was a mage who could do more than a musician.
Ayra covered her fingers with mana, then plucked the strings of the instrument one by one. After starting it, the instrument began to automatically pluck its strings and play on its own.
"An automatic harp that plays by itself—impressive."

"If it's a simple structure like this, engraving a mana circuit is easy."
Ayra answered proudly. Indeed, engraving a mana circuit was easy. What was difficult was recalling the familiar melody from memory, trying to find the right notes, plucking each string individually, and redrawing the staff...
"This is a song I’ve never heard before. Did you compose it? It sounds nice."

Janus, showing interest, sat beside her and gently stroked the strings as they resonated on their own. The piece was one of the famous classical works on Earth, but Ayra played dumb.
"Yes, I composed it."
The only flaw of this instrument was that it required continuous mana input, so it could only play automatically through the hands of a mage. Still, in a tranquil place like this, with lyrical music filling the air, it was quite an atmospheric experience.

Perhaps fascinated by the continuously playing instrument, Janus, leaning forward, began moving his fingers along the strings. Ayra, who had been absentmindedly watching, blinked in surprise. Despite this being a song he had never heard before, his fingers moved almost simultaneously with the strings when they resonated.
‘How fast is his reflexes?’
It was the same as when he had freely moved around with his eyes closed last time, and how he had climbed to the mountain's peak without even taking a single heavy breath. Janus was definitely a mercenary—no doubt about it. Could other mercenaries do this too? Watching his movements as though it were a fascinating show, Ayra’s gaze suddenly shifted to his red hair. He had carelessly pushed his bangs back with his fingers, revealing the sharp bridge of his nose beneath.

‘It’s fascinating that even his eyelashes are red...’
His hair, eyebrows, and eyes—everything was a striking shade of red that could never be achieved with dye. It was a rare color, one nearly impossible to find both in his past life and this one. Recalling when she had put an eye patch on him last time, Ayra unconsciously raised her hand and gently touched his hair. Even now, it was soft, a texture that didn’t match this man.
Then, suddenly, she met his red gaze, which was fixed on her without any movement, just his eyes looking up at her. Startled, Ayra snapped back to reality and withdrew her hand from his hair.

"Ah, sorry."
Making an uncertain sound, Janus raised his torso, which had been bent forward to touch the instrument. His finger, which had been resting on the strings, moved up to slowly run over Ayra’s silver hair with his index and middle fingers. Her heart raced wildly.
It was fair game since she had touched him, so she let it go, but at some point, Janus' face had become far too close. Noticing his breath on her, Ayra involuntarily held her breath.
In that moment, something warm and soft made contact.

Confused, her mind froze for a moment, and the warmth slowly traced her lips as it licked the gap where her mouth had shut. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, only to find that right in front of her, his ruby-like eyes gleamed brightly. After a slight sucking sound, Ayra regained her senses and hurriedly pulled her body back. The music stopped abruptly.
The instrument, rolling down from her knees, was caught effortlessly by Janus without even looking.
"...What was that?"

Ayra asked, slightly stammering. Janus, still playing the previous piece by plucking the strings with his fingers, replied nonchalantly. The corners of his eyes and lips curved lazily, forming a soft arc.
"It’s in repayment for the clothes you bought me."
"Who... repays in this way?"

"You seemed like you didn’t mind, and the atmosphere was just right."
Ayra, still flustered and confused, hesitated to respond. She was too shocked and embarrassed to think straight. It had been a while since she had played so messily, and now Janus was moving his fingers along the strings so smoothly and skillfully.
"Was I wrong? I thought you deliberately suggested a tour to seduce me."

"Suggested a tour to seduce you?"
"Didn’t you ask to come along on purpose? Otherwise, there would be no reason to ask for a tour of such a small estate like this."
A sudden cold breeze swept through, making Ayra shrink her shoulders slightly. Despite knowing there was no impure intention behind it, her cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip. Her heart, already beating fast, started racing even more.

"I wasn’t trying to seduce you. I just wanted to learn about the estate."
"Really? Then why is your heart beating so loudly? Look, it's still going on."
His voice, tone, and teasing manner were enough to leave Ayra dumbfounded. Did he really hear her heart beating?

"Can you... hear it?"
"It was as clear as hearing a drum next to my ear. I thought you were trying to seduce me, so I went along with it. What a shame."
Ayra struggled to breathe steadily as her excitement left her short of breath. It would be a lie to say there wasn't any affection for Janus when she asked him for the tour. However, she hadn’t thought about seduction or anything like that. Still, it felt as if her weaknesses had been pointed out, and for a moment, her mind went blank. He seemed to be making a conscious effort to act casual, but it didn’t seem like he was succeeding.

"So, if I were trying to seduce you, I would have crossed over, right?"
"You were pretty close to crossing over just now."
Ayra bit her lip tightly, unable to completely deny it. She couldn’t deny it after what had just happened.

"So... was it just my misunderstanding?"
Was it a misunderstanding, or not?
Ayra’s lips quivered as she was confused, even though she didn’t understand her own emotions. The reason she couldn’t say anything was that Janus was smiling so casually, looking as carefree as ever. Her pride was a little hurt, and out of sheer stubbornness, Ayra replied firmly.

"That’s not it."
"Really? What a shame."
Though he said it was a shame, his face didn’t look the least bit disappointed. As Ayra reached to take back the instrument, she flinched, remembering that the instrument was his, to begin with, and clenched her fist instead. After taking a deep breath and trying not to show any agitation, she spoke nonchalantly, trying to appear unaffected.

"I guess this is enough for the performance?"
"Yeah, it was enough."
It was more than enough, and it seemed that Janus had already lost interest quickly. Before long, he had emptied three bottles of alcohol. He threw the bottles one by one, and the sound of them breaking was sharp in the air. When he asked if she wanted the remaining bottle, Ayra shook her head and returned her own bottle to him. She had barely drunk a third of it.

Janus drained the remaining half of the bottle in one go. A few drops trickled out from between his lips and slid down his skin, disappearing into his collar. After throwing the last bottle and breaking it, Janus rested his chin in his hand, staring at Ayra. He tilted his head slightly, keeping his gaze on her for an uncomfortably long time. Only when Ayra frowned did he speak up.
"Yeah, I guess it’s definitely enough."
Janus stood up, still holding the remaining bottle, and patted his hands together to shake off the dirt. After taking one last look at Ayra, seemingly to check something, he smiled casually.

"...Well then, should we wrap this up?"
For some reason, his tone had an odd undertone, but after glancing around, Ayra quietly nodded in agreement. The sun was already beginning to set, so it was about time to head back to the castle.
"Yeah, sure."

As she brushed off the dirt from her seat and got ready to leave the rock, Janus extended his hand and said, "Here, take my hand." Since Ayra didn’t trust her own body, which had been affected by the alcohol, she didn’t hesitate and grabbed his hand. The warmth of his body was far more intense than usual, likely due to the alcohol.
After a few close calls where she almost stumbled, they made it to the base of the mountain, and by then, the effects of the alcohol had worn off somewhat. While she was distracted by the leaves and burrs sticking to her clothes, trying to remove them, Janus casually patted her shoulder.
"Well, I’ll head out now."

When Ayra looked up, Janus had already walked off a good distance. He waved his hand at her without turning back, and Ayra suddenly remembered the harp-like instrument—had he taken it with him, or had he left it behind?
Her gaze lingered on his hand, which was now just holding an empty bottle, before it shifted away.