Chapter 58 (2/2)

【”Harold’s secrets…..”]

He was given the death penalty based on circumstantial evidence, without any positive proof. There was a high chance that the execution had been arranged by someone. Moreover, following that masquerade, he was sent as a test subject for the research center so as to avoid the execution.

All that Lifa knew about the situation was what Elu had taught her, but there were a lot of strange points to the story. Why did Harold wear a uniform of the Sarian Empire? And why did the man who was involved in the deliberations suddenly lose his mind when he was asked about the case? There were too many mysteries remaining.

And at the very center of all this, was Harold. Lifa couldn’t even guess how many secrets Harold really had.

【”Maybe it’s going to be difficult to not be influenced by the voices surrounding you, but remember you can decide what to do after evaluating him with your own eyes. That’s your privilege as a person who gets to be near Harold.”]

【”…… Yes, you’re right. Thank you, I feel a bit better.”]

【”That’s great.”]

Now that Elu brought that up, Lifa realized how right it was. Lifa always did what she wanted to do without sparing a thought for the voices of the people surrounding her and whatnot. Even though she was told to stop trying to become an inventor, and that it was an impossible goal for her, she still made her own decision, went through with it and came to where she currently was.

She esteemed people the same way she esteemed an object’s value, based on the well defined standards she had established within her. Or rather, that’s how it should have been, but for some reason, when it came to Harold, she was completely lost.

(Maybe deep down, I just don’t want Harold to be a bad person….?)

That thought suddenly crossed her mind.

He was shunned by his surroundings, excluded. He was solitary, no one befriended him or understood him. His circumstances were similar to Lifa’s, who was treated as an oddity in her village.

Maybe she had overlapped Harold’s situation on her own, so she might have subconsciously convinced herself that if Harold was a good person, then she could prove that she was good as well. It was shameful but when she thought about it, it made sense.

What kind of man was Harold? She couldn’t see his true colors. Lifa had only perceived the parts of him which appeared on the surface, she hadn’t tried to understand his insides.

Because of Lifa’s nature, these thoughts became unbearable to her. In the blink of an eye, she ate up the sandwich and the salad in front of her.

【”Thank you!”]

【”You shouldn’t eat so fast.”]

【”I want to go meet Harold, just for a short time.”]

【”At this time of the day?”]

Elu pointed at the clock while smiling wryly at Lifa who started moving in a hurry. The clock indicated that the next day was coming soon. Harold was possibly already asleep. Even if he wasn’t, this was no time for visits.

And, what surprised Lifa the most was that she had been asleep until this time.

【”Yeah, I’d probably bother him if I go now…..”]

【”Well, it’s a good time to go night crawling.”](Tln: Elu says Yobai, you’re free to search that)

【”I won’t!”]

【”I won’t stop you, and I’ll even keep it secret.”]

【”Keep this kind of solicitude to yourself!”]

While firmly retorting to Eu’s mockery, Lifa gave up on visiting Harold. Because of how late it was, Lifa decided to go to bed, but since she had been soundly asleep until right before, she had a hard time becoming sleepy.

For several hours, she kept turning around then staying motionless in her bed again and  again. By the time the light of dawn started coming to the sky, she still hadn’t been attacked by drowsiness. It was a familiar sky for Lifa who had many sleepless night from getting too enthusiastic about her research and development.

In any case, she wasn’t able to fall asleep, so she decided to take a stroll and breath in the clear air of dawn, in order to change her mood. She left the room silently so as not to wake up Elu who was sleeping next door.

As a matter of fact, Lifa really enjoyed morning walks, it was refreshing to her. But, her village was small, the people there mostly made a living through agriculture and raising livestock, so they generally started their day really early. There were many families that started moving even before dawn.

When she went out in that period of time, Lifa, who was isolated in the village, stood out whether she liked it or not. She could only go out normally after sunset.

Lifa didn’t have to live such a rigid life here. She was slowly going around the research center’s premises at her own fancy.

At that time, her ears picked up the sound of wind being sliced. Lured by that noise, Lifa’s feet changed path towards a sheltered place, separated from the research center.

There stood Harold, who was freely handling two swords of different shapes.

It was captivating. Harold’s sword handling was like a sophisticated dance that could fascinate any onlooker. When he killed the hydras, Lifa was too close so she wasn’t really aware of what was going on, and above all, she had been so frightened by Harold’s overwhelming strength that her mind couldn’t catch up. However, looking at him fighting again, she realized how beautiful it was.

It was the first time she felt the beauty of combat.

Lifa had no sense of how much time had passed. Her preeminent concern was just to watch Harold in fascination.

In the end, only when Harold’s sword dance came to an end did Lifa come back to her senses. Harold put his two swords back in their scabbards at his waist with a cha-ching.

That was the signal that pulled Lifa back to reality, like a curtain coming down on a stage she had been absorbed into. Then, she suddenly recalled her original purpose.

It was still early morning so there were no onlookers. It was the perfect opportunity for Lifa to have a talk with Harold without anyone overhearing them.

His training seemed to be over as well, so talking to him wouldn’t be a hindrance. Thinking that, Lifa took her first step forward, and almost simultaneously, Harold casually took off his shirt, exposing his upper body. He wasn’t trying to display his body, it probably felt gross to wear the shirt as it was soaked in sweat so he just took it off.  He surely didn’t expect that someone was watching.

However, Lifa was taken by surprise, and just like that, Harold’s exposed upper body was suddenly neatly burned into her eyes.

Because of his tall height, Harold appeared to be quite thin when he had his clothes on, but his body actually had no excess flesh at all, and his muscles were like a masterpiece of pure efficiency where flexibility coexisted with strength. His body was strong and yet elegant, as if it had been sculpted by hand.

Looking at this body of the opposite sex was just too much stimulus for Lifa, who had absolutely no experience with romance.

Her pulse jumped up. As she felt her blood rapidly rising, Lifa didn’t have to look at a mirror to know that her face was currently bright red.

Harold’s back was turned the other side so he hadn’t noticed Lifa’s presence yet. She had to leave immediately, for both their sakes.

Though she knew that in her mind, she couldn’t take her eyes off Harold’s well-trained body. She had no control over her body, It was like her feet were sewn on the ground.

And, at last, Harold turned around.

The two’s eyes met. Harold’s deep crimson eyes shot right through Lifa. She had seen them many times so far, but right now, for some reason, she was entranced by those pupils that seemed to say “I don’t care about you, scum.”

Lifa had no words. Despite all the thoughts she had a little while ago about having a talk with him, she couldn’t say anything, be it greeting him or giving him an explanation about her staring at him. Her heart was beating fast, and she just stood there, all she could do was to take slow breaths over and over again.

In contrast to Lifa who was in that kind of state, Harold’s movements weren’t affected when he noticed her presence. He came up to Lifa with his shirt hanging on his right shoulder.

Lifa’s thoughts were boiling to the point where she couldn’t even think about what to do or what was happening.

Harold finally arrived in front of her. Even so, he didn’t stop walking, and the moment he passed by Lifa’s side, he approached his mouth close to her ear and whispered. Perhaps due to the intense exercise he had just been through, Harold’s voice had a warm feeling to it as it reached Lifa’s earlobe.

【”Did you take peeping as a hobby? How splendid of a so called genius inventor.”]

As Harold addressed her with his usual sarcasm, Lifa felt a shiver going along her spine. It wasn’t fear, but another sensation she didn’t know.

Harold left her with those words and went away as if nothing had happened. Left by herself, Lifa sat down on the spot as if her back had broken down.

Strange. A strange thing she had never experienced before had occurred to her body. However, she didn’t know the cause.

Even so, she was certain of one thing, and that was that she wouldn’t be able to look straight at Harold’s face for a while.