“Wait, little Gelin.”
As Ogre wrapped his scarf and put on his thick cloak, Mima called out to him.
“Put these on instead.”
Mima pulled out a pair of thick cotton tights.
The weather had turned cold, and she was worried about the young girl freezing her legs—it was fine for young girls to care about looking pretty, but not at the expense of their health.
If Ogre knew what Mima was thinking, he would have been caught between laughter and tears—he had no desire to wear these tight white stockings.
If he had a choice, he would rather wear his leather pants stitched with mana-swamp crocodile hide.
“Put them on, Miss Gelin. It won't do to catch a cold. I'll wait for you outside.”
Although Macar preferred Ogre in white stockings, he chose to side with Aunt Mima for the sake of 'Miss Gelin's' health.
“What a pity. Such a pretty girl has to stay bundled up.”
Maqi had actually been itching to go over and pinch Ogre's face—to see if that smooth, tender skin could truly be squeezed for water.
But considering that doing so would look too much like bullying, Maqi suppressed the strange desire.
'If only I were half as pretty as her.'
Maqi looked at her palm, calloused from sword practice, and sighed quietly.
If she ultimately had to choose between strength and beauty...
She would probably still choose strength.
She would never allow her family to be harmed again.
“Go on, little Gelin. Dawn favor you.”
Mima tidied Ogre's scarf and pulled up the hood of his thick cloak before smiling and watching him leave.
“Safe travels.”
Maqi also waved goodbye to Ogre.
After spending a day together, she had completely let down her guard against this simple, innocent girl before her.
If she didn't want to interrupt Macar's 'date'...
...she would have really liked to follow along and escort them the whole way.
Looking at Mima's family seeing him off, Ogre felt a strange stir in his heart.
'Unfortunately, I lied to you all...' Hidden beneath his scarf, Ogre forced a helpless smile.
'What is evil, Father?' A young Ogre had once asked his father that question.
'Someone who remains indifferent to kindness... that is probably evil...' his father had answered.
'Then Father, is this world evil or good?' young Ogre had asked again in confusion.
Because he always heard his father teaching him that the outside world was dangerous...
Supposedly, such a world ought to be evil.
'Before I met you, this world was evil. But after I met you... to me, the world is good. Ogre, you are the greatest kindness the world has ever shown me.'
That was his father's answer.
It was very hard to understand, very hard...
Even now, Ogre didn't quite understand...
The world wasn't black and white, yet sometimes, it could still be defined.
“Don't worry, I'll take good care of Miss Gelin.” Macar slung his large satchel over his shoulder, turned to wave goodbye, and set off on the journey toward the town with Ogre.
'I'd better smooth out this lie...' Ogre thought to himself.
...
“Brother Macar!”
As Macar was leading Ogre toward the carriage house, a young girl suddenly called out to him.
“Eve... what are you doing here?” Macar clearly recognized the girl.
'What's going on?' With most of his face hidden beneath his cloak and scarf, Ogre blinked innocently.
He could roughly guess the situation.
“I came specifically to find you, Brother Macar...” Flushing red, Eve was about to say something when she realized the figure beside him, bundled in a scarf and thick cloak, wasn't Maqi, but another girl.
Although the other person only showed her eyes, Eve could clearly sense Macar's concern for this unknown girl.
“What's wrong, Eve?”
Macar merely assumed Eve's flushed cheeks were from the cold wind, so he was completely bewildered by her sudden arrival.
“Who is she...” Eve hadn't expected that after just a few days, another bad girl had already glustered up to her beloved Brother Macar.
“Oh, right! I forgot to introduce you two. Eve, this is Miss Gelin. She's a Dawn Sister from Notabon City. Due to an unexpected accident, I'm temporarily responsible for her safety and daily care.”
After introducing Ogre to Eve, Macar belatedly introduced Eve to Ogre. “Miss Gelin, this is Eve. She's a childhood playmate from my village. After she entered the Church of Dawn for further studies, we rarely saw each other, but in my heart, she's like another sister to me.”
'Doesn't seem as simple as a sister...' Ogre silently stepped a little farther away from Macar.
“I'm Eve. Um, it's nice to meet you, Friar Gelin.” Eve let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Macar's introduction, then generously extended her hand to Ogre.
“Mm...” Ogre grunted in response, reaching out to shake her hand just to go through the motions.
To his surprise, his indifferent attitude caused Eve to frown.
“Are all you people from Notabon City so rude?” After shaking hands, Eve was visibly annoyed.
Ogre: “...”
Are village folk all so short-tempered these days?
“Huh?” Realizing what happened, Macar finally remembered he had forgotten to tell Eve about Miss Gelin's condition.
“It's not like that, Eve. Miss Gelin has trouble with her throat, so...”
Macar didn't finish his sentence, but anyone listening could understand the meaning.
“Huh?” Eve pulled her hand back with an embarrassed expression. Then, as if realizing something, she bowed deeply to Ogre. “I'm so sorry, Friar Gelin! I was too rash!”
Ogre only felt a headache coming on.
He didn't want to get involved in any of this; he just wanted to use this identity to peacefully lie low from all the mess before heading back.
“It's... fine...”
But since things had come to this, Ogre could only play along with the persona he was supposed to have.
Never again would he do something clever like this...
“I'm really so sorry...”
Seeing Ogre's difficulty in speaking made Eve's guilt deepen further.
Although it was Macar's fault for not explaining, the harsh words had indeed come from her own mouth.
“Alright, Eve. Miss Gelin isn't holding a grudge. It's all my fault—look at my brain...” Macar patted his own head, then asked Eve, “By the way, Eve, did you need something from me?”
Ogre silently stepped aside to give the two some space.
Eve looked at Ogre, then at Macar, and ultimately choked back her words...
She felt like... she had come at a bad time.
“It's nothing. I just wanted to see you, Brother Carl...” Watching Ogre step aside, Eve felt a wave of relief in her heart.
'Phew, looks like she's not one of those bad city women. Brother Carl should still be mine...' Eve didn't believe Macar would fall for a semi-mute.
Look at herself—she was superior in every way, wasn't she?
For instance, height, or chest size... plus being Brother Carl's childhood friend—no matter how you looked at it, it was a complete victory!
“Sigh, it's my fault for forgetting, but I really have business today. How about this: after I finish today's errands, I'll take you to Aunt Mima's, and we can have a good long chat.”
Macar didn't overthink it.
In his memory, Eve was still that tomboy follower running around behind him.
Although she had changed somewhat when they met later, the friendship was still there.
“Huh? Isn't that... a bit fast?” Eve turned her head, her face turning red.
Meeting the family already? Wasn't that a bit too fast?
“Haha, what's not good about it? It's settled then. See you tonight, Eve. I'm taking Miss Gelin to town now.”
Macar laughed heartily and prepared to lead Ogre to the stable to rent a carriage.
The road from the village to the town wasn't overly long, but it wasn't short either.
There wasn't much danger to worry about; he was just afraid Gelin's feet wouldn't be able to take it.
So he ultimately decided renting a carriage was better.
“Okay...” Eve lowered her head. But when she raised it again, she saw Macar had already walked a distance with Ogre.
Eve: “Huh?”
That didn't seem to go quite as she had envisioned.
“Go back and wait for me, Eve.” Macar waved his hand without turning back around.
“Damn it... Next time I definitely have to seize the chance.” Eve stamped her foot on the spot.
She felt Macar was wonderful in every way, except he was far too dense.
“Forget it, I'll go ask Maqi...”
...
“What? Miss Gelin, are you saying Eve likes me?” Macar took the notepad handed over by Ogre, his eyes widening in disbelief.
“Mm...” Ogre nodded earnestly.
If he could, he wouldn't want to get involved in this nonsense either, but for his own peace and quiet, he decided to play matchmaker this once.
But Macar shook his head violently in utter denial, muttering under his breath, “Impossible. Absolutely impossible. How could Eve like me...”
Rate on N.U.
