NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
After finishing the matters with Shione and Siabel, we returned to Shione’s room once again.
This time, I thought she would jump onto her bed as soon as we got back, feeling exhausted.
Instead, Shione sat in front of the table where I had placed snacks and started popping cookies into her mouth one by one.
“Shall we have some tea as well?”
Nod nod.
Shione nodded her head while savoring the cookie in her mouth.
I poured her some tea.
Seeing her eat in such a gluttonous manner, it looked like she might choke at any moment.
“Cough! Ugh….”
As expected, she struggled to swallow after mismanaging a cookie and rushed to drink some tea.
It’s not like anyone was stealing her food, so why was she eating so hurriedly?
I shook my head and asked about what had just happened.
“How did your conversation with Siabel go?”
“We exchanged pleasantries and talked about the Beltlin Mountains. Thankfully, my sister led the conversation.”
“Were the vibes okay?”
“Ha… still, it was awkward, no doubt about it.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Would you like another cup of tea?”
“I would appreciate it.”
I poured more tea into her cup.
Shione slowly raised her cup, watching the gentle waves in the tea.
After sipping her tea, Shione shook her head slightly.
It seemed she was trying to shake off the awkward memories from meeting Siabel.
“If you keep chatting bit by bit, it’ll gradually get better.”
“If that happens, it would be the best.”
Clank.
Shione stood up from her chair.
Shuffling over to her bed, she flopped down with a heavy sigh.
“Ha….”
What else was on her mind now?
She stared at me through the air, dramatically sighing.
“What’s the matter?”
“I heard we’re heading to the Beltlin Mountains in three days. I just got back, and it’s disappointing that I won’t have much time to rest.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head at Shione’s words.
She had plenty of chances to rest while riding in the carriage, so what more could she want?
She hadn’t even sat upright in her seat.
She had laid down comfortably on a blanket in the carriage.
And now, she was saying this to me, who had been the one running around, cooking soup and doing the dishes.
Wasn’t it fine to give her just a light tap on the head?
As I thought about how to give her that playful hit, it reminded me of something I needed to get from her.
She had mentioned lending me a flower language dictionary.
Since I was curious about the meanings of the flowers she had recited, I made sure to remember it.
“Lady Shione.”
“Hm?”
“May I receive the flower language dictionary you offered to lend me?”
“Ah… that!”
She lifted herself from her bed and pointed at the bookshelf in the corner of the room.
“It’s over there, so go take a look.”
Would it hurt her to get it for me herself?
It seemed like Shione had no intention of moving from her bed at all.
So, I had no choice but to find the flower language dictionary myself.
I began reading through the titles of the books in the common tongue of the continent, searching for the dictionary.
“Oh, here it is.”
I pulled the book out.
The cover of the book was adorned with various flowers, and it was quite thick, making it a bit of a challenge to find the flower I wanted.
“First up, the elixir flower.”
I searched the dictionary for the elixir flower’s meaning.
The meaning of the elixir flower is: “I believe and follow.”
Does that mean I believe and follow Shione?
Or does it mean Shione believes and follows me?
Whatever it was, I found the flower’s meaning amusing and let out a small giggle.
“Next is the plum blossom.”
I quickly moved on to find the meaning of the plum blossom.
Let’s see, the plum blossom means… “a noble heart.”
It seemed Shione had a high opinion of me.
Hearing that I had a “noble heart,” I couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
“And the last one was….”
Ah, the poppy.
I looked up what she had mentioned regarding the poppy.
Upon seeing the meaning of the poppy, I briefly froze.
“Fleeting love? Transient love?”
Why was love being brought up here?
Rubbing my eyes and reading it again didn’t change the text.
I glanced between the flower’s meaning and Shione.
“Lady Shione.”
As I called her, Shione turned to face me.
“I just read the meaning of the poppy flower….”
“Ah….”
“Do you like me?”
There was no backing down from my question, and Shione’s expression twisted slightly.
Her face seemed to flush a little… it looked like my unexpected question had made her angry.
If she was curious, she could have just asked me once.
“Of course, there’s no way I would!”
“But when you told me the flower meanings, you mentioned the poppy too….”
“That must have been a mistake!”
With that statement, Shione dove back into her blanket.
I couldn’t understand why she was so angry over something like that.
I put the flower language book back on the shelf and then had no choice but to wait for Shione’s anger to subside.
*
Finally, three days later, it was the day we were heading to the Beltlin Mountains.
I was fully armed, wearing leather armor instead of my usual servant’s attire.
‘Since there’s also a quest involved….’
The quest told me to escort Shione until the extermination of the monsters in the Beltlin Mountains was complete.
Since the quest called for me to protect Shione, even with dozens of soldiers accompanying us, there would surely come a time when I would need to protect her at least once.
It wouldn’t hurt to be thoroughly prepared in case we came across any orcs or wolves without any armor.
As I checked my gear beside Shione, Siabel, who had been chatting with other soldiers, approached her.
Bronte, who had been following her, was along for the ride as well.
“Shione. We’re planning to leave now; are you ready?”
“Of course. I’m ready whenever.”
“Great.”
At Shione’s sharp response, Siabel nodded with a satisfied expression.
I waved at Bronte.
Bronte glanced at me for a moment before returning the wave.
Having finished the informal greetings, we boarded the carriage.
Rather than riding in the family carriage with Siabel as normally would have been the case, Siabel rode in another carriage to talk privately with other soldiers, leaving just Shione and me in this one.
“We’re off!”
With the driver’s call, the carriage began to move forward.
As the carriage sped along, just after crossing the castle wall, I curiously asked Shione, who had been quietly closing her eyes.
“Would it be alright to ask how long it takes to get to the Beltlin Mountains?”
At my question, Shione opened her eyes.
“It should take about an hour. It’s not too far, so a little nap wouldn’t hurt.”
Shione’s energy seemed a bit lacking.
She had been lively in the morning; why was she now so listless?
It truly was perplexing.
“You seem a bit drained… are you not feeling well?”
“Thank you for your concern, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
“I can’t help but be concerned.”
“I’m just not fond of having to camp at the Beltlin Mountains… the thought of it just makes me….”
…To think that the reason was something so trivial despite appearing to carry the weight of the world.
Feeling a bit silly for worrying, I let out a sigh.
Seeing that, Shione chuckled lightly.
“See? I told you it’s nothing serious.”
“True enough.”
Making me worry unnecessarily.
After that, I decided to close my eyes and detach my thoughts from Shione.
I don’t know how much time passed, but when I opened my eyes to the bustle around us, Shione was packing her quiver.
“…What’s going on?”
“I heard they spotted a goblin. If we pass them by, it could harm nearby villages, so we must eliminate it.”
“Are you planning to get involved, Lady Shione?”
“A goblin is a perfect target for me to practice my archery again.”
“I’ll accompany you.”
I hurriedly collected my bow and arrows, following her as we jumped down from the carriage.
Outside, a few soldiers and Siabel were already facing off against the goblins.
Seeing the soldiers bravely toppling the goblins, it seemed they would clear the area soon enough.
“If we keep this up, we might not catch a single one.”
“Let’s hurry.”
Shione paused mid-stride, pulling an arrow from her quiver.
Following her gaze, I spotted the goblin not far ahead.
The problem was the distance was quite great, and there else was an ongoing battle with our allies nearby.
I hardened my expression and spoke seriously.
“Make sure not to hit our allies.”
“Of course! That’s an obvious thing to say.”
“Just be cautious, there’s a fair number of soldiers around.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head.”
Despite her dismissals, I couldn’t help but worry. Given the distance, even the slightest misstep could lead to a critical error.
Ignoring my concerns, Shione slid and released her arrow.
Shione’s arrow flew through the air.
Fortunately, her arrow didn’t accidentally strike any of our allies.
Shione’s arrow pierced the skull of the glowing goblin, who collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
“How was that? Pretty clean, don’t you think?”
Shione seemed quite pleased with her archery skills, grinning brightly.
Riding the momentum, she became even more excited with her shots.
In the end—
“Very neat indeed.”
“…Keep it down.”
Most of her arrows ended up going well astray.