25 CHAPTER XXIV "Let's Name This Emotion"




 Herd stanley, the future savior of mankind. A man of valor, a hero.

 When you see him again, you can see how extraordinary he is. His eyes are mild, yet his presence seems to burn through the world around him. He is still young, but his eyes seem to look at everything with a glint of wisdom.

 The sun. Yes, the word "sun" would be appropriate. A blessing of warmth to all around him, but also an awe that reaps and scorches everything in its path. Son of the sun.

"What? What's so unusual about my dark hair?

 On the other hand. On the other hand, she stands beside him, or should I say the moon?

  Fiorato la Volgograd. Master sorcerer. A member of the journey to salvation, a future watershed in the history of magic, a change agent if ever there was one.

 Her lustrous black hair is pulled back in a bun, and her strong eyes give a hint of her cleverness. Her face and sculpted features are unique to her as a foreigner. This, combined with the atmosphere, makes her uniquely attractive. She is a different kind of beauty from Kalia.

 She has the same walled-off, shunned atmosphere that she had during her journey to salvation. The exception to this was with Herdt Stanley, though. Now, I feel a strong repulsion towards him as well. Perhaps we don't have a long relationship yet. The way he was building walls in all directions, he looked like a needle rat.

 Well, you're a good match. I click my tongue.

 Fialat may be a little too bright to be the moon, but her and the sun-like Held Stanley. From an outsider's perspective, it's a perfect match.

 --I can't stop throwing up.

 It was as if I could hear the guardians of hell whispering in my ear.

 I stepped forward, stifling Kalia's question as she asked if I knew him. He saw the parchment in Fialaert's hand. And the events in his memory. I don't care if it's a coincidence or not.

 The parchment in his hand and the events in his memory.

No, I was just thinking that no one would have taken me up on that offer.

 The words have to be provocative. The words have to be provocative, so that the other person can bite, so that they can bite. That's not the point of the old Caria Vadnick. Strength or weakness is not important to the sorceress. What matters to her is wisdom. To know or not to know. She's smart or she's not. That's all. I don't have that kind of stuff, of course, but I do have knowledge.

 I can see that Kalia and Hert Stanley were taken aback by my abruptness. Of course. A person I just happened to meet for the first time threw provocative words at me as soon as he saw my face. In that instant, there was only one person who felt any other emotion. Only the black, pearly eyes.

"...... You're so high and mighty. What, are you trying to make me look bad? I came to the guild to submit a request. What's wrong with that?

"Uh... I'm sorry. She, Ms. Fialaert, has a tendency to argue with people. It's fine that she's fine, of course, but...

 She pushed aside Herdt Stanley, who tried to protect her as quickly as possible, and her dark eyes looked at me. Yes, not at Herdt Stanley, but at me. This me, the one he once didn't care about, the one he wouldn't even look at.

 I could feel something muddy and sticky brewing in my heart.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're being an a**h*le.

 He said, kicking up the words of Held Stanley, who was trying to mediate the situation.

"That parchment. I'm not sure who would use something like that to make a request, let alone a book. Guild requests are made on papyrus. Or verbally.

 Kalia put her hand on my shoulder for a moment, as if she was trying to hold me back. But then she stiffened her hand, as if in thought, and withdrew it, probably on purpose. He sighed loudly behind his back.

 I want you to understand that it is you, not me, who is being sighed at in such a helpless manner.

If you're sending out requests on parchment, you're obviously either naive or extremely annoying. No one is going to want to take your case. Mostly ignorant young ladies and boys who've never been asked before.

 If a sword is the weapon to defeat Caria, then wisdom and words are all that is needed to subdue Fialaat la Volgograd. I know that Herd Stanley once told me a story of failure during a meal. He said that when he made his first request to Fialaat, he made it on a piece of parchment.



 He snatched the parchment from Fialaert's hand, whose face contorted at the word "ignorant". It's easy to snatch something out of the hands of a stunned, non-adventurous person.

 You look it over quickly - well, it's not a sham, it's definitely a hard object. The adventurers who had checked the contents out of curiosity must have backed out quickly.

 Just as I scratched my chin at the request, my wrist, holding the parchment, was squeezed with great force. I don't have the will to crush it like Kalia, but it's as solid as a rock.

"We were fools, that's for sure. It's up to you to mock it. But ...... that's no reason to taunt her. I'd like my commission back.

 Herdt Stanley's fingers clenched his wrist tightly. It feels like heavy steel. As long as I don't let go of the parchment, he won't let go of my wrist either.

 Great minds think alike. Herd stanley's respect for people. A heart of compassion. And the strength of his encompassing spirit. Well, he has all the elements to attract people. An outstanding man, no doubt. Yeah, that's obvious.

 But not for me. It's uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

 Fialaat la Volgograd is not someone I should have anything to do with. In fact, from what I remember of my past, like Caria, he was someone I wanted to have as little to do with as possible.

 Fiorato La Volgograd didn't directly threaten me like Caria did. But the way he treated me was downright cold.

 They don't take my opinion. He doesn't care about my existence. She doesn't care about my intentions. Perhaps to her, I wasn't a member of the trip, just a scullery maid. At least she treated the other members reasonably well.

 Of course, that's to be expected. There was no excuse, I was just a scullery maid on the journey to salvation. I had no power to subdue Kalia Vadnick, no knowledge to convince Fialaat La Volgograd.

 But that's why I understood the duality of people, the coldness that sinks deep inside.

 She had been so cold to me, and yet she had been so surprisingly cheerful to Held Stanley. She who acted like a wise woman who listened to people, but didn't see me in the first place, treating me as a foreign object.

 Compared to her treatment, the treatment of someone like Kalia might have been better. In terms of existence, Karia was certainly aware of me.

"I'll turn him down, it's a request after all.

 And that's why, knowing all this, I feel scared inside.

 The Fiorato La Volgograd would once again be standing beside Held Stanley. Once again, they will build the relationship they once had. It's as if I'm going through the same thing I went through. That horrible man would be created in this world again. Fear and trepidation pulsing through my body.

 --Oh, and that's not all. Something more terrible is being born.

 Is this jealousy? Is this something deeper and darker than that, some other emotion that's hard to describe?

 Oh, maybe there is a God. If you'd given me the chance, you could've wiped out Held Stanley. If you couldn't, you might as well have wiped me out. Then my heart would have been much calmer.

I'll take this offer, but on one condition.

 His eyes trembled with agitation, and he shook off Held Stanley's hand, which had relaxed involuntarily. Then he looked at Fialat with a sharp look in his eyes. As if asking a question. As if he were guessing.

 For a moment, Fialaat almost opened his mouth as if he couldn't understand our intentions, but then, as if to prove his intelligence, he reworked his words and said, "Let's hear the terms.

"Let's hear your terms.

 Oh, I see. This feeling must be called... Hatred.

 I never want to see that again. Helt Stanley, I want to see him take something. I want to take it all away from him. That's what my heart yearns for.