Chapter 18 - Volume 1 (2/2)

Her heartbeat spontaneously started throbbing, and she couldn’t hold back her face from turning red.

That black hair, so glossy it looked damp just like usual. Those mysterious, miraculous sunrise-colored eyes with purple and orange intermingling together. She hadn’t seen Agedilus in so long, he looked so beautiful she couldn’t help but be fascinated again. There was a scar under his left eye, but it didn’t damage his beauty one bit.

——……Huh?

Besides that scar, Arche could see another change in Agedilus. It was a change that would probably go unnoticed by all except those who really observed him. The change looked rather similar to the smile he did once, the second Arche realized she’d fallen in love with him.

——What could it be…? It feels kinda like, the air about him changed?

Before he left on this trip, he had a stiff, hard air about him. Even when he was alone in the arbor in the medicinal plants garden, it felt like he was pushing away other people. But now, just what had happened to the air of the person in front of her? Even though there was still some stiffness left, it had become remarkably calmer compared to before. Somehow softer, gentler.

‘I wonder if it’s because the world’s finally at peace now,’ Arche thought. He had been burdened with the great responsibility of defeating the demon king, and now the journey had finally ended. A journey so short, but it felt so long. No doubt that must be more than enough to put him at ease.

On top of that, now everyone would sing his praises as one of the saviors of the world, a complete change from how he was loathed for his black hair before. Even though they had all been mixing fact and fiction in their rumors, speaking ill of Agedilus, since he came back they were all saying nice things about him. Arche did resent them for being so selfish. But more importantly, hearing him be praised like that made her so happy and proud, as if she was the one being praised.

If this was how Arche, someone else felt, no doubt the person himself must be even happier. That may have been what softened his attitude.

‘Or maybe, what if…’ A question came to Arche’s mind. Was this because she was the one in front of him? Was she the only one he’d show these emotions to? Was he in fact showing them just because she was there?

「C-congratulations, for defeating the demon king!」

「Right. Good job, you’ve been working hard too.」

「—!」

Flustered, she quickly lowered her head at the first appreciative words she’d heard from him. If she hadn’t, he’d definitely have noticed her red face.

What if, what if that was true? What if it really was Arche who’d soothed Agedilus, softened his attitude?

——Uwaaaah! What am I even thinking!

It was a ridiculous, absurd thought that made her want to shake her head quickly to shake it off. But why did she have a feeling that thought was strangely true? Just the thought of his pleasing voice saying something like 『I love you』 was so, so unbearable. She felt like she might faint right there.

「Um, this is the crops I harvested while you weren’t here – tea leaves, herbs, medicinal plants. I couldn’t harvest everything, but…」

Arche handed a paper bag to Agedilus full of different kinds of plants, dried up and separated by their types. She’d carefully compared the herbs and plants Agedilus ordered her to raise before he left, hand-picking the ones he would order most often. It seemed he had a special recipe for medicinal plant tea. She wanted to try that tea someday.

Agedilus took the bag from Arche, turning his sunrise-colored eyes towards her. Her heart made a sudden, violent thump.

「……You understood well.」

「That’s just because I’m your gardener!」

Saying that in an admiring voice, Arche puffed up her chest in pride. ‘That’s right. This beautiful being’s gardener.’ There may be those that said she was just a peasant gardener, but Arche knew how difficult it was to be his gardener. It was really difficult to be close to someone loathed for having black hair. But she’d done that long before he became a hero.

She’d allowed that to happen, and she definitely would continue it for long after too. She could be near to the one she longed for. She liked him. She loved him when she slept, she loved him when she woke up, she loved him so much it was unbearable.

Agedilus left, holding the paper bag full of medicinal plants and herbs. Arche watched him leave, basking in the lingering aftertaste of joy.