Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
The girl who called out to Maon checked on her and immediately began muttering something. Then, the girl’s hand began to be enveloped in a pale light, and to Maon’s surprise, the muddy area and the scrapes on her palm from being pushed away quickly began to heal.
Well, I guess it’s magic… To be honest, I’m surprised.
Eventually, the light disappeared from the girl’s hand, and she let out a small sigh.
I rubbed the sweat that was shining faintly on her forehead with my fingers. Her neatly trimmed hair around her shoulders swayed slightly. Looking at Maon’s condition, I could see that she was no longer enduring the pain she had been in just a moment ago, and I couldn’t help but feel relieved. …Really relieved.
“That’s good…Maon-san…”
I helped Maon-san stand up, and then I stood up as well, thanking the girl who helped us.
“Thank you so much. I’m Genta, and this is Maon.”
“Please allow me to express my gratitude once again. The wounds on my scraped hands and the pain in my body have completely disappeared. Thank you, young lady.”
Saying this, Maon-san bowed her head.
I stood up and looked at the girl again, and saw that she was indeed small and slender, and by Japanese standards looked to be around the upper grades of elementary school.
I thought she was wearing some strange clothes, but when I looked at the shape, I saw that they looked similar to the clothes worn by church nuns that you sometimes see in Japan.
However, the fabric had not been dyed in any way and was the same color as withered flowers and plants. Also, when walking around town, there were few people wearing dyed clothing. Perhaps in this world, dyed fabrics of some kind were considered quite luxurious.
“Oh! Genta-san too…”
Apparently, when I stood up, my head was higher than the girl’s, and she couldn’t see the wound around my jaw. So she reached out her hand and cast a healing spell on me.
To be honest, I was so worried about Maon that I forgot about the pain. I only just realized that I was injured, and felt a pain around my jaw, but after about 20 or 30 seconds the pain had disappeared thanks to the healing magic.
“Wow… I’ve been amazed by everything today. If you look closely, not only have Genta’s wounds healed, but even the dirt on his chin and chest has been completely cleaned away… healing magic is amazing…”
“Leaving mud on the wound can make it worse, so healing magic not only seals the wound, but also removes the mud at the same time.”
That’s amazing… I’ve never had an injury serious enough to require a hospital visit, but I did go to the nurse’s office for scrapes and such when I was in elementary school. The wound would be washed with tap water, disinfected, and medicine applied if necessary. But unlike magic, the wound didn’t close instantly, however the process was the same. The length of time it took and the availability of necessary supplies seemed to be the difference between medicine and magic.
….
“It seems there’s some kind of reason… Let’s leave here for now.”
The girl suggested, glancing at us and the merchant guild. She seemed much more mature than her years.
“Let’s go down the street behind. A little further on there is a big stone that is just right for sitting on. I’m a little tired, so I’d like to sit down for a bit.”
The girl and Maon-san were talking. Since I don’t know the geography of this town, I had no choice but to follow them.
We walked a little further back from the main street and sure enough, we found a large stone. It was long and narrow, so it was definitely a good place to sit. The three of us were able to sit side by side, so we decided to talk there.
The girl introduced herself as Mia Alice. Apparently she was working as a maid at the church. I guess healing powers are something used by the clergy.
More importantly, this other world is a world where magic exists, and it was fire magic that caused the fire at Maon’s house…
A world of swords and magic…
This was before I was born, but one of the works that made such a setting popular was a novel published around the end of the Showa era or the beginning of the Heisei era. It is a famous novel set on a cursed island.[1]
Come to think of it, I saw an elf woman a few hours ago. She looked like a character from the story of the cursed island… Hmm, she was really beautiful.
As I was reminiscing about that, Maon-san was telling Mia-san what had happened in the guild in private.
“There are some parts that are a bit off, but when you hear such a cheeky story from a foolish son who has never known hardship, you just want to give him a piece of your mind!”
“But one silver coin for a loaf of bread is quite a lot.”
“That’s not true, Mia. Genta’s bread is amazing.”
Maon-san said, lifting me up. Mia-san didn’t seem to realize it, and there was a difference in the enthusiasm of our conversation. So I offered her some bread as a token of my gratitude.
“Mia Alice, once again, thank you for earlier. If you’d like, please have some of this bread, I hope it suits your taste…”
I took out the jam bread from my backpack, opened the plastic wrapping, and handed it to Mia.
“It’s soft… plump… and what do you know…? It smells nice. It smells really… so sweet…”
*Munch* Mia put the jam bun into her mouth. Cute girls are cute no matter what they do. Even though she’s just starting to eat the jam bun, she looks like a small animal and looks very cute.
Even if what she was holding in her hand right now is a deba knife, what’s cute is still cute. That’s an unchanging definition. Even in a world of swords and magic, cuteness is justice.
Then, after starting to eat from the edge and taking a few bites, it seemed she reached the strawberry jam part, and she let out an inarticulate yell, “~~!?”, and stood up with great force…
….
Mia Alice’s body was trembling as she stood up. She was probably surprised by the sudden sweetness. She looked really cute.
Mia took another bite and continued to eat the jam bun. As she continued to eat towards the middle, the layer of jam became thicker, and an even stronger sweetness spread in her mouth, causing Mia to shiver more clearly.
“Pop!♪”
A section of her hair rose up like an ear.
“Hmm?!”
I was so surprised that I cried out loud.
Meanwhile, every time Mia-san continued to eat the bread, her hair took on the shape of ears, and then it began to move actively. If you look closely, you could even see a tail popping out.
Not only is she cute, but she also has cat ears? And a tail…?! Well, there’s no doubt about it… She’s fully equipped…!
“Do you have the power of a cat, young lady?”
While I was impressed by the real cat-eared girl I had seen for the first time, Maon asked Mia that question. Mia touched her head with a startled expression, and when she confirmed that her ears were sticking out, she looked depressed.
“I did it again…”
….
When I asked Mia Alice why she was depressed, she said that she got excited by how delicious the jam bun was, and that she is a species that looks the same as a human but has the characteristics of an animal (a cat) … in this world. And when something good happens, the physical characteristics of the cat beastman, such as ears and a tail, appear.
That in itself is not a bad thing, but apparently what is required above all else of those who use healing magic is to always remain calm and collected.
Certainly, if a doctor is flustered or overly emotional, it can be unsettling for the patient, whose life is being entrusted to them. That’s why Mia got so excited about the deliciousness of the jam bun but she became extremely depressed when she exposed those characteristics.
However, Maon spoke to her gently.
“Cheer up. I’m ashamed to say this, but eating this jam bun made me feel just as happy. It would be strange if your heart didn’t light up after eating something so sweet and delicious.”
“But…Mia…”
“Listen, Mia Alice… this is natural. There’s no need to force yourself to feel happy. Laugh when you feel like it. It’s boring to put on a serious face when you’re happy, right?”
She used to refer to herself as “I,” but before she knew it, she started calling him “Mia.” Coupled with her petite stature, Maon treated her kindly.
“And I told you earlier that Genta’s bread is amazing. (The equivalent of 10,000 yen in Japanese Yen) I told the Merchant Guild, so it was worth it, right?”
Mia Alice nodded.
Seeing this, Maon nodded and stroked Mia’s head, just like a kind grandmother doting on her granddaughter.
“Mia Alice, I feel the same as Maon. I would be happy if you eat this bread and say it’s delicious with a smile on your face. I do think it’s important to stay calm. But if you do that all the time, you’ll probably get tired.”
So… I continue speaking, trying to smile as much as possible.
“For now… I want you to stay just the way you are. Is the jam bun delicious?”
She smiled at my question.
The author has something to say:
This is personal, but…
By chance, I met someone I had a crush on in high school.
We’ve both gone our separate ways now and a fair amount of time has passed, but my mind still finds itself going back to that time.
It was just a few minutes of casual conversation, but it brings back memories, and I remember that we once bumped into each other in front of a station that wasn’t even the nearest one to me.
I thought high school was a boring three years,
Thinking about it now, I think there are one or two memories that I treasure.
I realized that maybe my life as an unsociable person back then wasn’t so bad after all.
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[1] It probably refers to The Decagon House Murders (十角館の殺人) by Yukito Ayatsuji.